Safeguarding Scotland’s Water Environment

Overview

Scotland’s water environment is one of our most valuable natural assets. It supports wildlife, contributes to health and wellbeing, and underpins sustainable economic growth. This environment sits within a complex landscape of towns, cities, farmland, forests, and industry.

Protecting and improving this resource is essential to building resilience to climate change and ensuring the needs of people, nature, and the economy are met for the future.

We have published the Safeguarding Scotland’s Water Environment report that sets out our assessment of the water environment. 

Why We’re Consulting

Scotland’s water environment faces growing pressures from climate change—rising temperatures, droughts, and flooding—as well as pollution, habitat loss, and, invasive species. Tackling these challenges requires collective action.

This consultation on Safeguarding Scotland's Water Environment seeks your views on the significant water management issues we have identified and how we can work together to address them. Your input will also help shape the next River Basin Management Plan (RBMP).

We recognise the importance of working in partnership and involving stakeholders, operators, the public and, communities in what we do. Through this consultation, we want to open a conversation with you and deepen our understanding of your experiences and views on creating resilient water catchments.

What is RBMP?

RBMP is Scotland’s framework for protecting and improving the water environment. The plan brings together Scottish Government, SEPA, public bodies, and stakeholders to deliver improvements. We are currently working to deliver the RBMP for 2021-2027 referred to as RBMP3. Progress has been made, and our understanding of water conditions and pressures continues to grow.

How we use your feedback 

As Scotland’s principal environmental regulator, our purpose is to protect, improve Scotland’s environment in ways that, as far as possible, also create health and wellbeing benefits, and sustainable economic growth.

Our Corporate Plan sets our strategic direction and our Annual Operating Plan implements our priorities. In delivering these priorities we engage with those who have an interest in and are impacted by our regulations and duties. One way we engage is through consultations.

The feedback we receive through our consultations helps us understand what matters most to our communities and businesses, and shapes how we fulfil our duties. After the consultation closes, we’ll take time to consider responses before sharing an update with you through the “we asked, you said, we did” section of our consultation website.

What happens next

The issues identified in the Safeguarding Scotland’s Water Environment report reflect the health of our water environment and progress toward restoring nature. Addressing them will require collaboration across sectors. We welcome your ideas and suggestions on how best to achieve this.

This consultation is the first stage in reviewing and updating RBMP. The responses we receive will be considered as part of that work. A summary report of that feedback will be published on this website.

A draft RBMP4 will be published for consultation in December 2026, with the final plan due in December 2027.

How to take part

Please begin by reading:

This document sets out the significant water management issues and the evidence behind them.

After reading, select ‘Share your views’ to begin. 

By submitting your response to this consultation, you give us permission to analyse and include your response in our results. 

We would like to know if you are happy for your response to be made public. If you ask for your response not to be published, it will be regarded as confidential and treated in accordance with our published Privacy Policy.