News
11/04/2024

Scottish National Adaptation Plan public consultation

A stone bridge over a body of water surrounded by green grass and bare trees, with a building in the distance and the scene captured in the water's reflection

Pollock Park in Glasgow

As part of the public consultation for the Draft Third Scottish National Adaptation Plan (SNAP3), Adaptation Scotland is supporting the Scottish Government to deliver workshops to gather feedback and input from a variety of communities, infrastructure providers, business, industry and finance.

Five place-based workshops were facilitated around Scotland in collaboration with local Climate Hubs. These took place in Annan, Montrose, Golspie, South Uist, and Glasgow. The aim was to support participation of people vulnerable to climate change to help inform the further development of the Plan, gathering their lived experiences of climate change, and supporting their engagement in adaptation policy and action in Scotland. More than 100 people took part overall.

Snapshot from Golspie

In Golspie, the workshop gave the local community an opportunity to learn about SNAP3, and for the Scottish Government’s Adaptation Team to hear directly from some of the Highland regions most immediately vulnerable places. As of 2021, more than 100 Golspie properties lie within 50 metres of the current mean high-water springs (MHWS). According to Dynamic Coast, unchecked, present maximum coastal erosion rates may increase with sea level rise resulting in ~-330 m retreat by 2100 across Golspie. This is what many coastal communities in Scotland may experience in the future. Golspie residents have become powerful adaptation and resilience communicators, developing the skills and knowledge needed to accurately and passionately convey their community's needs.

Engaging stakeholders

In addition to this, Adaptation Scotland programme has also supported a series of thematic workshops with the Scottish Government. This has included sessions at the Scotland’s Flood Resilience Conference in Edinburgh, a session as part of the bi-annual Public Sector Climate Adaptation Network event with over 50 participants, and an online session with stakeholders involved in nature, land use, and marine environments. Further events focused on business and finance, infrastructure, and economic development are taking place throughout April.

The consultation remains open until 24th April 2024 and we would encourage readers to review the Draft SNAP3 plan, and contribute to the online consultation.