2010 Review of Goose Management Policy in Scotland REVISED VERSION OCTOBER 2010
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2010 Review of Goose Management Policy in Scotland REVISED VERSION OCTOBER 2010 2010 Review of Goose Management Policy in Scotland Authors Bob Crabtree,1 Liz Humphreys, 2 Andrew Moxey3 & Chris Wernham2 1 CJC Consulting, 45 Southmoor Road, Oxford, OX2 6RF ([email protected]) 2 BTO Scotland, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA ([email protected]) 3 Pareto Consulting, 29 Redford Avenue, Edinburgh, EH13 0BX ([email protected]) A report to the Scottish Government October 2010 ©British Trust for Ornithology BTO Scotland School of Biological & Environmental Sciences, Room 3A120/125, Cottrell Building, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA Registered Charity No. SC039193 1 REVISED VERSION OCTOBER 2010 Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................... 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................ 17 ACRONYMS USED IN TEXT ................................................................................... 19 SCIENTIFIC NAMES FOR GOOSE SPECIES AND POPULATIONS IN SCOTLAND ................................................................................................................................. 21 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 22 1.1 Background to current Scottish Goose Management Policy and Structure ...................... 22 1.2 Policy drivers and the need for review ........................................................................................ 25 1.3 Remit of the current review ............................................................................................................ 27 1.4 Methods of the current review ....................................................................................................... 29 2 THE STATUS OF SCOTTISH GOOSE POPULATIONS: CONSERVATION OBLIGATIONS, OBJECTIVES AND KNOWLEDGE GAPS ................................... 31 2.1 The legislation governing goose management in the UK ....................................................... 31 2.2 Hunting arrangements in the UK and reporting systems as they apply to geese ............ 38 2.3 Historical changes in legislation and possible impacts on goose populations ............... 44 2.4 Obligations and opportunities for goose policy within wider biodiversity policy ............ 46 2.5 Status of Scottish goose populations and conservation obligations ................................. 49 2.6 Has the Scottish National Policy Framework succeeded in meeting conservation obligations for geese? .................................................................................................................................... 87 2.7 Gaps in knowledge and suggested actions ............................................................................... 88 2.8 Implementation of the 31 existing goose management policy recommendations ......... 105 2.9 Conclusions ...................................................................................................................................... 105 3 NATIONAL POLICY FRAMEWORK: STRUCTURE, DELIVERY AND EFFECTIVENESS .................................................................................................. 107 3.1 Institutional structure ..................................................................................................................... 107 3.2 National Goose Management Review Group ........................................................................... 107 3.3 Local goose management groups .............................................................................................. 110 2 REVISED VERSION OCTOBER 2010 3.4 GSAG .................................................................................................................................................. 114 3.5 SNH ..................................................................................................................................................... 115 3.6 Conclusions ...................................................................................................................................... 116 4 THE ECONOMICS OF GOOSE MANAGEMENT: ITS PUBLIC BENEFITS, VALUE FOR MONEY AND COST-EFFECTIVENESS .......................................... 118 4.1 An economic perspective .............................................................................................................. 118 4.2 Economic value of geese .............................................................................................................. 118 4.3 Population growth and the costs of damage ........................................................................... 120 4.4 Shooting, sale of carcasses and egg control measures ....................................................... 121 4.5 Costs of local schemes .................................................................................................................. 124 4.6 Increasing the cost-effectiveness of payment schemes ....................................................... 126 4.7 Generic issues in cost-effectiveness ......................................................................................... 128 4.8 Improving the cost-effectiveness of existing schemes ......................................................... 130 4.9 Conclusions ...................................................................................................................................... 138 5 AREAS NOT CURRENTLY SUBJECT TO MANAGEMENT REGIMES ........ 139 5.1 Principal areas affected ................................................................................................................. 139 5.2 Orkney ................................................................................................................................................ 140 5.3 Caithess ............................................................................................................................................. 140 5.4 Lochaber, Spean and Roy Bridge ............................................................................................... 141 5.5 Conclusions ...................................................................................................................................... 141 6 POLICY CONTEXT AND FUNDING MECHANISMS ..................................... 142 6.1 The policy context and Scottish Government‟s economic strategy .................................. 142 6.2 Funding sources .............................................................................................................................. 142 6.3 Geographical restrictions .............................................................................................................. 145 6.4 Prescription flexibility and complexity ...................................................................................... 145 6.5 Payment rates................................................................................................................................... 146 6.6 Monitoring, verification and additionality ................................................................................. 147 6.7 Governance ....................................................................................................................................... 147 6.8 Security of funding.......................................................................................................................... 148 3 REVISED VERSION OCTOBER 2010 6.9 Administrative and negotiation costs ........................................................................................ 148 6.10 Conclusions ...................................................................................................................................... 149 7 OPTIONS FOR GOOSE MANAGEMENT IN THE FUTURE .......................... 150 7.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................................... 150 7.2 Sustainable management .............................................................................................................. 150 7.3 Policy context and objectives ...................................................................................................... 151 7.4 Moving towards Species (population)-specific policy scenarios and objectives .......... 151 7.5 Policy delivery options .................................................................................................................. 170 7.6 Conclusions on policy options .................................................................................................... 182 8 CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................................. 183 8.1 Status of Scottish goose populations, conservation obligations and knowledge gaps 183 8.2 National policy framework and its delivery .............................................................................. 187 8.3 Economics of goose management ............................................................................................. 187 8.4 Policy context and funding mechanisms .................................................................................. 188 8.5 Goose management in the future ................................................................................................ 189 8.6 Specific