The Scottish Borders Council (SBC) and Macaulay Research Consultancy Services (MRCS) yesterday (Thursday 8 March 2007) celebrated their achievements in winning a certificate of Commendation in the Scottish Executive’s 2006 Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning, for their entry, A Borders Wetland Vision: Development of a Strategic Planning Tool for Wetland Biodiversity. The commendation, which recognises achievement in development planning, was received by David Donnelly and Roger Cummins of MRCS and Andy Tharme of Scottish Borders Council, at a ceremony held at The Hub, on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, yesterday afternoon.

The project developed by SBC and MRCS was part of SBC’s Borders Wetlands Vision, a new approach to local wetland conservation, and the first of its kind in Scotland.

Andy Tharme, SBC Ecology Officer, said: “Winning the Development Planning award at the Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning is fantastic recognition of the dedication of all the staff who worked on the development of the Scottish Borders Wetlands Decision Support Tool. The entire team has worked incredibly hard to help reach this milestone, and ensure that we remain at the forefront of land use modelling in Scotland, and throughout the UK.”

The cutting-edge software tool helps local authorities find the best management solution for wetlands and other key wildlife habitats, and is being used in research to help guide the SBC’s Sustainable Flood Management programme. It can also identify areas that could become wetlands in the future, increasing biodiversity and helping with flood and pollution control.

Dr Jonathan Ball, Head of Landscape Planning & GIS Group at the Macaulay Institute added, “The Scottish Borders Council and Macaulay Research Consultancy Services (MRCS) are proud to have developed this strategic approach to wetlands management, which adds to the Institute’s considerable list of applied land use models. The tool has already been embraced by a number of organisations including the Council’s Flood Management Programme, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, Scottish Natural Heritage and Forestry Commission Scotland and by the Scottish Borders Local Biodiversity Action Plan.”

MRCS also played a significant role in two other projects that were praised by the judges. The first was a commendation for the “Highland Renewable Energy Strategy and Planning Guidelines” (The Highland Council and Aquatera Ltd – MRCS was the subcontractor providing all the GIS analysis) and the second was for the “Partnership Approach to Delivering Strategic Environmental Assessment” (Aberdeenshire Council, Aberdeen City Council and Scottish Enterprise, Grampian for which the Macaulay Institute provided GIS and related services).

The awards ceremony was attended by members of the Communities Committee, in addition to a number of MSPS and a wide range of environmental planning organisations.

Ends

Notes to Editors:

The Macaulay Institute is the premier land-use research institute in the UK. Two hundred and seventy staff are based at the Macaulay Institute at Craigiebuckler in Aberdeen. The Macaulay Institute aims to be an international leader in research on the use of rural land resources for the benefit of people and the environment and is involved in research across the globe; from Scotland to Chile and China. More about the Macaulay Institute can be found at www.macaulay.ac.uk

The Borders Wetland Vision project is a Scottish Borders Local Biodiversity Action Plan project. The Vision adopts a strategic, information based approach to wetland conservation, utilising opportunity maps identifying where environmental enhancements for wetlands could be delivered in future, using existing wetland areas of environmental value as a starting point. The project is co-ordinated by Scottish Borders Council, and also involves Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Scottish Borders Biological Records Centre (SBBRC), Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and Tweed Forum.

For further information please contact: Kelly Cromar Tricker PR Office 01224 646491 Mobile 07795 522 01O Email kcromar@trickerpr.com

Dr Jonathan Ball Macaulay Institute Office: 01224-498200 Email j.ball@macaulay.ac.uk

Dr Andy Tharme Scottish Borders Council Office: 01835-826514 Mobile: 07929 926929 Email: atharme@scotborders.gov.uk

Alex Watson Scottish Borders Council Office: 01835-826632 Mobile: 077786 01896 Email: awatson@scotborders.gov.uk