Coul Links is one of Scotland’s best wildlife sites – protected nationally, regionally and internationally. RSPB Scotland is part of a conservation coalition of seven environmental groups who have been working together to help save the site from damaging golf course proposals. Following a month-long public inquiry process Kate Bellew, our Senior Conservation Planner, brings us up to date on the next steps and what you can do to help save Coul Links.
What’s happening on Coul Links?
What a fantastic team!
Well done and a huge thank you to all the people involved in the Coul Links inquiry. The image below shows RSPB staff and some of our conservation partners outside Carnegie Hall on the first day of the inquiry. There were lots of other volunteers and staff helping behind the scenes who also deserve a big thank you. Great to see so many different organisations and individuals working together for nature!
A critical time for nature
Working together and taking urgent action to restore nature is the only way we are going to start to reverse the ecological crisis we are currently facing. The recent global assessment of the state of nature highlighted the dramatic and unprecedented impacts that we are having on our natural world:
‘The loss of species, ecosystems and genetic diversity is already a global and generational threat to human well-being. Protecting the invaluable contributions of nature to people will be the defining challenge of decades to come’
- Sir Robert Watson, Chair of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)
Worryingly, the global assessment indicates that over 85% of the world’s wetlands have already been lost. Wetlands support a significant proportion of the world’s wildlife. Internationally protected wetland sites such as Coul Links are therefore incredibly important in halting further loses, not just in Scotland, but globally. Coul Links supports hundreds of different species, including over 30 Scottish Biodiversity List species, which means they are priorities for conservation in Scotland.
The report sent out stark warning to Governments that business as usual is no longer an option. Nature needs to be the foundation of all future development, with priority given to restoring habitats and focusing on activities that are beneficial to nature.
This reality seems to have hit home, and RSPB Scotland welcomed Nicola Sturgeons’ recent confirmation that the pressures facing nature are as challenging and important as the climate crisis.
‘We are already doing a great deal here in Scotland to address biodiversity loss through our biodiversity strategy. We will consider the report’s findings carefully and we will look to ensure that our actions produce the transformative change that is needed’.
- Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister
In this context, allowing irreversible damage to an internationally protected wildlife site seems unthinkable. Planning decisions such as Coul Links will really test how central a role the environment will play in our future.
What’s Happening with the Inquiry?
After a long month in Dornoch, the inquiry sessions are now all over. All inquiry parties have now had the opportunity to submit a final written closing submission.
There’s no set deadline for a decision. The Scottish Government Reporters are waiting for the developers very late closing submissions before they finalise their report to Scottish Ministers. The decision whether to save Coul Links will then be in Ministers hands.
Help us fight to #SaveCoulLinks
We’ve already seen an amazing response to our campaign – but there’s still time to ask Scottish Ministers to save this incredible wildlife site. Please add your voice to our e-action.
If you prefer a hand-written letter, then you can also write to Scottish Ministers directly at:
Kevin Stewart, Minister for Local Government, Housing and PlanningScottish GovernmentSt. Andrew's HouseRegent RoadEdinburghEH1 3DG
Follow our save Coul Links partner organisations on Twitter: Buglife, Plantlife, Butterfly Conservation Scotland, Scottish Wildlife Trust, National Trust for Scotland, and Marine Conservation Society.