A Place in Balance

‘Creating an environment more in balance, one that will support Central Scotland to thrive in a changing climate’.

Outcomes:

• An environment that can adapt to climate change
• Communities which function well and can cope with change
• Properly maintained natural resources cost less to maintain
• Natural resources are valued and managed
• A region in greater carbon balance

Ambitions:

• Increasing woodland cover in line with the Scottish Forestry Strategy target
• Supporting water catchment and coastal zone management
• Reducing the effect of climate change by capturing, storing and retaining carbon (for example, through protecting peatland, planting trees and other land-management practices)
• Investing in our public parks, tree planting, roof gardens and other forms of sustainable urban drainage to improve the green infrastructure of our major towns and cities

Who will benefit:

• People will be less exposed to the effects of a changing climate
• Disadvantaged communities as they see environmental inequalities being reduced
• Businesses through measures to reduce the amount of energy and water they use
• The public sector as the costs associated with dealing with the effects of climate change (for example, flood defences) are kept as low as possible.