Seòmar agus comataidhean

I want to focus on communities. COSLA’s written evidence calls for

“Sustainable and scalable community empowerment support”,

and we heard from the previous panel about how important community empowerment will be. Can you give more information on what that support will look like in practice? I will go to Silke Isbrand first.

Thank you. We could probably spend the whole meeting talking about examples of good practice. It is important to hear about some of the best work that is going on internationally and at home.

I will hand back to the deputy convener.

Good morning to the panel. It is nice to have you all here.

We have talked about some of your priorities. I know that we will expand a little more on those throughout the session, but I would like to focus on how Scotland’s efforts to tackle the biodiversity crisis compare with the efforts of other countries. What could we learn? Are there examples of best practice?

I would like to hear from each member of the panel on this, because it would be good to hear your various points of view, but I will start off with Bruce Wilson. The Scottish Wildlife Trust’s submission notes that

“Scotland should learn from the experience of other countries and draw on the ... Strategies and ... Plans ... elsewhere”,

and New Zealand’s strategy was mentioned specifically as a good example. Can you elaborate on the strengths of the New Zealand strategy and show how it has proved to be successful?

Thank you. I will look into that specifically.

There are things that we are doing nationwide that we should promote more. I turn to Professor Morgera.

Good morning, panel—it is nice to see you. I will stick with the same theme that I covered with the previous panel. How do Scotland’s efforts to tackle the biodiversity crisis in marine and freshwater environments compare with those of other countries? Are there instances of best practice that we can learn from? I will go to Craig Macadam first.

You mentioned positive things that are happening in Scotland that we could, perhaps, expand on or roll out nationally. I ask Calum Duncan to expand on what other countries are doing and on anything positive that is happening in Scotland that could be expanded on.

Thanks very much. We discussed New Zealand at length with the previous panel of witnesses. There are definitely things to learn from there, and it is useful to have the other examples.

Does Susan Davies have anything to add on my question about Scotland’s efforts to tackle the biodiversity crisis in marine and freshwater environments and how those efforts compare with those of other countries?

Good morning and thank you for your helpful comments so far. I am interested in the role of community organisations in service provision. I appreciate the comments that have been made so far about service requirements and the fact that communities are best placed to help to shape the thinking on that issue. However, I want to expand on a point that Fiona Hyslop made about community representation and how it can best be achieved in the medium and long term.

How can we ensure that full communities are represented? For example, the inclusion of young people is important because they have specific needs. How are young people represented in each of your areas?

Thank you. I am keen to hear Margaret Morrison’s views.