241213PerfCPaper4CairngormsNatureActionPlan

Cairngorms Nation­al Park Author­ity Ugh­dar­ras Pàirc Nàiseanta a’ Mhon­aidh Ruaidh

Per­form­ance Com­mit­tee Paper 4 12 Decem­ber 2024

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For decision

Title: Cairngorms Nature Action Plan

Pre­pared by: Andy Ford, Dir­ect­or of Nature and Cli­mate Change Car­o­lyn Robertson, Cairngorms Nature Manager

Stra­tegic context

1. The Cairngorms Nature Action Plan is one of the four key strategies which sup­port deliv­ery of the Nation­al Park Part­ner­ship Plan. It is the primary deliv­ery mech­an­ism for the out­come of a car­bon neg­at­ive and biod­iversity rich Nation­al Park with bet­ter func­tion­ing, bet­ter con­nec­ted and more resi­li­ent eco­sys­tems and all asso­ci­ated object­ives and targets.

2. The Cairngorms Nature Action Plan provides the struc­tur­al frame­work to guide the dir­ect and indir­ect deliv­ery of the nature theme as described in the cor­por­ate plan.

3. The Action Plan does not replace but rather com­ple­ments, sup­ports and builds on a wide range of nation­al strategies, policies and plans relat­ing to the envir­on­ment and land use, for example: Scot­tish Forestry Strategy, Scot­tish Biod­iversity Strategy, Wild Deer, A Nation­al Approach, Scotland’s Cli­mate Change Plan, Flood Resi­li­ence Strategy and River Basin Man­age­ment Plans.

4. The Action Plan is a col­lab­or­at­ive doc­u­ment which guides and sup­ports the work of land man­agers, part­ners and stake­hold­ers in the Park; provid­ing the stra­tegic con­text and pri­or­it­ies for invest­ment in, and deliv­ery of, a nature-rich and cli­mate change resi­li­ent Nation­al Park.

Pur­pose

1. This paper presents an out­line timetable for the devel­op­ment of the 2025 – 2030 Action Plan.

Cairngorms Nation­al Park Author­ity Ugh­dar­ras Pàirc Nàiseanta a’ Mhon­aidh Ruaidh

Per­form­ance Com­mit­tee Paper 4 12 Decem­ber 2024

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Recom­mend­a­tions

1. The com­mit­tee is asked to: a) Note the achieve­ments and les­sons learnt from the deliv­ery Cairngorms Nature Action Plan 2019 – 2024 b) Approve the out­line pro­cess for the devel­op­ment of the Cairngorms Nature Action Plan 2025 – 2030.

Stra­tegic policy consideration

1. The Park Author­ity Board noted deliv­ery, reviewed les­sons learnt and approved the pub­lic­a­tion of the Cairngorms Nature Action Plan 2019 – 2024 Final Report on 13 Septem­ber 2024.

Stake­hold­er engagement

1. The Cairngorms Nature Strategy Group is the primary stake­hold­er engage­ment mech­an­ism for stra­tegic input and over­sight of the Cairngorms Nature Action Plan. The group com­prises a range of organ­isa­tions and land man­agers with an act­ive role in the deliv­ery of biod­iversity gain in the Nation­al Park.

2. Mem­ber­ship of the Strategy Group is cur­rently under review to best sup­port its func­tions with regard to a new Action Plan, new Nation­al Park Part­ner­ship and Nation­al policy agenda.

3. Tar­geted engage­ment with deliv­ery part­ners, land man­agers, com­munit­ies and key stake­hold­ers will take place as part of the Plan’s devel­op­ment. A form­al, six-week con­sulta­tion will be car­ried out as per the timeline described below.

Key achieve­ments and les­sons learnt 2019 — 2024

1. Park Author­ity Board mem­bers reviewed the Final Report detail­ing deliv­ery of pri­or­it­ies, actions and tar­gets on 13 Septem­ber 2024. Tar­gets for land­scape scale con­ser­va­tion were exceeded in most cir­cum­stances and there is a strong case for con­tinu­ing this approach in the devel­op­ment of the next Action Plan.

Cairngorms Nation­al Park Author­ity Ugh­dar­ras Pàirc Nàiseanta a’ Mhon­aidh Ruaidh

Per­form­ance Com­mit­tee Paper 4 12 Decem­ber 2024

Page 3 of 4

1. Deliv­ery and report­ing of focussed action for tar­get spe­cies presen­ted the most chal­lenges. The final report high­lighted the need for a more dynam­ic and flex­ible approach to incor­por­ate new inform­a­tion as it becomes avail­able. Review­ing mem­ber­ship of the Strategy Group provides the oppor­tun­ity to strengthen the know­ledge base and expert­ise in this area.

2. Tar­get set­ting for spe­cies focussed action did not accur­ately reflect the extern­al factors respons­ible for pop­u­la­tion dynam­ics. In devel­op­ing the next Action Plan, par­tic­u­lar atten­tion will be giv­en to the way in which activ­ity is presen­ted in the con­text of cli­mate change and biod­iversity loss. The Action Plan will be closely linked to the Cairngorms Nature Index which will provide great­er insight into the drivers of change.

Timetable for devel­op­ment of 2025 – 2030 Action Plan

1. Devel­op­ing the Action Plan dur­ing 2025 will allow for full con­sid­er­a­tion of the recently pub­lished Scot­tish Biod­iversity Strategy deliv­ery plan, Scotland’s Flood Resi­li­ence Strategy and any pro­vi­sions in the forth­com­ing Nat­ur­al Envir­on­ment Bill.

2. The pro­posed timeline for devel­op­ment of the Cairngorms Nature Action Plan 2025 – 2030 detailed in Annex 1.

Implic­a­tions

1. Cairngorms Nature is a core part of Park Author­ity busi­ness, driv­ing deliv­ery of the Nation­al Park Part­ner­ship Plan and cement­ing the col­lab­or­at­ive part­ner­ships increas­ing biod­iversity and cli­mate change resi­li­ence in the Park. The work is coordin­ated dir­ectly by the Cairngorms Nature Man­ager and resource alloc­ated to deliv­ery is with­in the Park Authority’s oper­a­tion­al budget allocations.

2. The devel­op­ment of the Action Plan is a col­lab­or­at­ive pro­cess with full engage­ment of loc­al stake­hold­ers under­pinned by the stra­tegic deliv­ery of the Nation­al Park Part­ner­ship Plan. Strong and con­tin­ued com­mit­ment to deliv­ery under­pins the Park Authority’s rela­tions with land man­agers, agen­cies, organ­isa­tions, and com­munit­ies on mul­tiple areas of work across the Nation­al Park Part­ner­ship Plan.

Cairngorms Nation­al Park Author­ity Ugh­dar­ras Pàirc Nàiseanta a’ Mhon­aidh Ruaidh

Per­form­ance Com­mit­tee Paper 4 12 Decem­ber 2024

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Suc­cess measures

1. The Cairngorms Nature Action Plan 2025 – 2030, rep­res­ent­ing clear actions to deliv­er, and report on, Nation­al Park Part­ner­ship Plan object­ives, will be pub­lished with the sup­port of a wide range of stake­hold­ers in Octo­ber 2025.

Andy Ford, 28 Novem­ber 2024 andyford@​cairngorms.​co.​uk

Car­o­lyn Roberts 28 Novem­ber 2024 carolynrobterts@​cairngorms.​co.​uk