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Biodiversity sustains the natural systems that provide vital goods and services to society, supporting tourism, farming, forestry, aquaculture and fishing industries. It adds variety to our urban green spaces and contributes to improving the health and wellbeing of the people of Scotland. For all of these reasons, biodiversity is important to SEPA. SEPA is a key partner in the delivery of the Scot

A full list of RBMP publications. This page provides a full list of RBMP data sources. Water environment hub The tool provides information on current condition and future targets for rivers, lochs, coastal waters and groundwaters. Classification information The most detailed and up to date classification information for all parameters is available in our water classification hub. This has maps of all results, along wit

Fixed Monetary Penalties (FMPSs) and Variable Monetary Penalties (VMPs) for reservoir managers Since January 2019 SEPA has been able to issue Fixed Monetary Penalties (FMPs) of between £300 and £1,000 to reservoir managers. In addition, SEPA also has the ability to issue Variable Monetary Penalties (VMPs) of up to £40,000 for majority of offences within the legislation. All offences that SEPA can

There are a number of significant environmental problems caused by a number of pressures, including diffuse and point source pollution, alterations to beds, banks and shores, alterations to water levels and flows and the presence of invasive non-native species. In order to measure these pressures and their potential effects, we use an aquatic classification system which covers rivers, lochs, estuaries, coastal and groundwater bodies. These are split into management units called water bodies, with a classification produced for each body (the number of water bodies between years varies slightly, as some water body boundaries are reviewed to ensure that they can be managed appropriately). We produce an annual Water Framework Directive (WFD) Classification for all the water bodies in Scotland. Classification results for 2007 to the current year can be found on the Water Classification Hub. Read the State of Scotland's Water Environment 2024 summary report (MS Word, 1.17 MB). Most of our water environment is already in a good condition and subject to fewer pressures than most other E

Our vision is for towns and cities to use nature-based, blue-green solutions to absorb and safely convey rainwater. This will: help strengthen their resilience to the intense downpours they face under climate change minimise the risk of polluting sewage spills by keeping rainwater out of sewers create fantastic places for people to live and work Urban wastewaters Over the past 20 years, SEPA has

Scotland’s soils are an important natural resource providing a wide range of benefits for people, the environment and the economy. It is essential to protect soils to ensure they are able to continue to provide these benefits for future generations. Why are soils important? Soils are a vital natural resource as they carry out a wide range of essential functions, such as growing food and timber, co

Diffuse Pollution in the Rural Environment A programme of rural diffuse pollution work started in March 2010, to help deliver the objectives outlined in the River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) for the Scotland and Solway-Tweed river basin districts.  Diffuse pollution priority catchments have been identified by SEPA as catchments failing to meet environmental standards. Each catchment has a dedic

Legislation directs SEPA to assess and classify each shellfish protected area. To deliver this we work closely with Food Standards Scotland (FSS). FSS sample, analyse and report water quality in production areas throughout the year to ensure shellfish are safe for consumption, or determine if they require further treatment. At the end of each year FSS provide SEPA with this data who use it to clas

Further technical guidance This page brings together a number of ancillary guidance documents and previous email bulletin information relating to modelling of marine fish-farms for CAR licence applications. Auxiliary biomass sampling transect In areas where the tidal residual current is weak, the auxiliary transect (site-specific sampling 2) may be aligned along a bearing reciprocal to the primary

Frequently asked questions Why is a sea lice framework needed? Populations of wild Atlantic salmon have been in serious decline in recent decades and are now at crisis point. The pattern of decline is repeated across the salmon’s North Atlantic range and is likely caused, at least in part, by the effect of climate change on the survival of salmon during their time at sea. To build resilience of Sc