England’s Historic Seascapes: Draft Marine Bill
Pressures on our coasts and seas are increasing rapidly in intensity, as for example from improved coastal sea defences, port development and shipping-channel dredging, mineral aggregates, oil and gas extraction, and wind-farm construction.
In April 2008, the draft Marine Bill signalled radical changes to the frameworks governing economic activity and conservation in the marine environment. Building on many of the proposals published in 2007 in the Marine Bill White Paper, A Sea Change, the draft Bill will introduce a new marine planning system designed to promote the sustainable management of our seas.
Long term strategic objectives contained in a UK Marine Policy Statement will guide preparation of more local Marine Plans for those objectives’ implementation in specific areas, informed by data on spatial uses and needs, and delivered in large part by a new Marine Management Organisation (MMO).
The draft Bill acknowledges that the new marine planning system will place a premium on the MMO having access to a sound evidence base of environmental and socio-economic data for delivery of its largely area-based information needs. Historic Seascapes Characterisation (HSC) is designed to provide such an area-based footing for the understanding of the coastal and marine historic environment, giving spatial assessments of historic character in a manner interoperable with analogous databases for the natural environment. In doing so, HSC will assist the compilation of marine plans and enhance the sustainability of their management implications by enabling fuller recognition of the historic processes that have shaped our present natural environment and its ecological expressions.
Further information on the draft Marine Bill, its accompanying documentation and consultation process can be found on the Defra website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/marine/legislation/index.htm
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