Chamber and committees

Minister, I want to ask about an issue that cuts across to the other side of your portfolio: consumption. Last week, we heard about some of the global impacts that consumption and supply chains have on biodiversity. We recognise that that is reflected in the new global biodiversity framework, but it is not reflected in our environment strategy. How will the new biodiversity strategy and delivery plan start to address our understanding of the twin issues of the impact of consumption on biodiversity and what we do about it, given that there is a mixture of reserved and devolved competences around the issue?

I will pick out one specific area in relation to consumption: food waste. There is a particular target around consumption and reducing waste in the global framework, and we have an important target to reduce our food waste in Scotland. How is that going? How can we make more progress on that?

Yes. I would be very grateful for that, convener.

Thank you.

I actually want to go back to the issue of marine protected area designation.

On the issue of MPA designation, environmental NGOs and communities have a long-standing concern that, although we might designate areas as such, they might end up as paper parks because of a lack of enforcement and monitoring.

What is your response to that? How might we ensure that highly protected marine areas are adequately monitored in future, with the right management measures associated with them and with enforcement in place?

When exactly do you anticipate the review on food waste being published? Will it be this year?

Okay. The committee will obviously take a great deal of interest in that.

I realise that we are about to move on to a different area, convener, but I just want to make the point that it is important that we have the opportunity to question Circularity Scotland in the weeks ahead, because there is some real nitty-gritty stuff in here that it would be good to get some evidence on.

Did you say that there is a supplementary, convener?

In the biodiversity strategy and delivery plan, should we expect to see something specific on consumption?