The Scottish Environmental Publication Agency has published a new report on the state of the environment in Scotland - the first major update since it was last published in 2011.

The 2014 State of the Environment Report concludes that on the whole, Scotland’s environment is of good quality and there have been many significant improvements in recent years.

The report has been written by some of the country’s leading environment and health agencies and provides a comprehensive, impartial assessment of Scotland’s environment and how it is changing, based on the latest data from a wide range of sources.

The Report’s five main chapter areas are air, land, water, climate and people and the environment. For each topic the report assesses environmental conditions and changes, reasons for these and what is being done to solve any problems.

David Pirie, Executive Director from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) said that while the Report highlighted that the environment is generally of good quality Scotland could not afford to be complacent, commenting:

“In particular, the report shows that we need to reduce the environmental impacts created by our demand for goods and services. This is complex, and will only be solved by public bodies, businesses, non-governmental organisations, research and academic bodies agencies and the public working together to protect the many and varied benefits a healthy environment brings.”

On climate, the Report explains that over the last century, Scotland’s climate has become warmer, while changes in rainfall patterns have led to drier summers and wetter winters, together with more frequent heavy rainfall events.

The Report emphasises the importance of achieving targets set by the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 to cut greenhouse gas emissions in Scotland by 80 per cent of 1990 levels by 2050.

On water, the Report points out that the rivers and lochs which covering about 2% of Scotland's land area, contain 90 per cent of the UK’s surface freshwater. The country also has around 19,000 km of coastline, which makes up 8 per cent of Europe's coast.

The State of Environment Report 2014 concludes that the states of Scotland’s freshwaters are generally good and that its seas are biologically diverse and relatively unpolluted.

There has been a significant reduction in pollution over the last 25 years with historic pollution problems largely addressed. Most of Scotland’s seas, coasts and estuaries are in good or excellent condition.

There are, however, localised areas of concern including some habitats within Scottish inshore waters which are in a stable or declining condition. Most areas have some species (for example, harbour seals, some species of sharks and rays) that are declining to the point that it is now of concern.

Almost two-thirds of lochs and just over half of rivers were reported as in good or better condition. While the wildlife of rivers and lochs was considered to be in good condition, a number of individual species (for example, water voles) are declining.

The report highlights the importance of delivering management practices as encouraged by The National Marine Plan and River Basin Management Plans.

No mention of Hydro Nation strategy 

Interestingly however, the report makes no mention of the Scottish Government’s Hydro Nation strategy – which describes the hydro-economy as providing “huge opportunities for Scotland which we are determined to seize.  Establishing Scotland as a Hydro Nation will maximise the benefits to the Scottish economy through the economic development and good stewardship of Scotland’s abundant water resources.”

The Report makes no assessment of the potential challenges this might present to Scotland’s aquatic environment, apart from flagging up energy production as an issue for rivers and lochs, which could disrupt the natural movement of water.

Click here to download the water section of the report.