Community 30×30 – A Coastal Regeneration Opportunity

5 February 2026

Edinburgh is a city whose economic history is unusually rich for a city of its size. It was the city in which the Bank of Scotland was formed, as Edinburgh went on to solidify itself as the UK’s second financial centre, after London. But Edinburgh has also been the origin of many entities of lasting cultural significance too. The Encyclopaedia Britannica, the first modern general encyclopaedia, was founded there. So too was the first modern medical school model, the University of Edinburgh Medical School. Edinburgh is a place that understands value, and the value of non-monetary things. A fitting place for just such an event.

15th of January was a momentous occasion for us. In partnership with Mark Ruskell MSP, we hosted our first event since we launched at the Scottish Parliament to highlight how vital community-led efforts are in delivering marine protected areas (MPAs) that work. 

The evening began with a warm welcome from Mark Ruskell, who spoke on the history of the Scottish Government’s implementation of marine conservation laws. But, in his own words, ‘whilst community groups are doing great work to support MPAs, we know there’s much more progress still to be made for them to be fully effective.’ 

Our own Belinda Bramley and Duncan MacRae then set out the many environmental, social and economic benefits brought by maintaining healthy, effectively managed MPAs, highlighting the need for active and adaptive management. Whilst the number of MPAs in Scotland has risen significantly, major strides still need to be taken to ensure marine species can begin their recovery. We believe the most successful form of MPA management is community-led. On this topic Duncan presented his experiences with successful community-led MPAs abroad. We then asked MSPs and stakeholders to consider how we can work together to replicate this success in Scotland and the rest of the UK. 

Kat Bruce then stepped in to talk about her journey through Scottish coastal communities, which highlighted the desire and ability of these groups to enact real and positive change. She then introduced some of the communities we are supporting. 

Leonie Alexander and Karen Chambers shared some of their work with Edinburgh Shoreline (ESL), to extol the value of Edinburgh’s coast, something that is often overlooked as being part of the city. Activities hosted by ESL range from mussel bed regeneration to art installations, but there is still a huge need for action on water quality and implementation of marine coastal restoration plans. Their local coastal area is within a Ramsar Site, a wetland of international importance for wildfowl habitat, and hence contributes to Scotland’s MPA network of 233 sites for nature conservation. 

Aileen Robertson works for Dive and Sea the Hebrides, a diving expedition company on Skye. Naturally, her business’ success is heavily tied to the ocean’s health, yet she has spent much of the past few months fighting the proposed location of a new subsea cable so that it avoids local maerl beds, a priority marine feature in Scotland. In her own words ‘it feels like we’ve been doing the consultant’s work for them, unpaid. That’s not sustainable.’  

Noel Hawkins spoke alongside a cohort of young environmentalists, the Ullapool Sea Savers. Since bringing in more stringent rules in the Wester Ross MPA and engaging with local stakeholders, they have witnessed first-hand remarkable signs of recovery in their waters. Indeed, a young humpback has been making headlines for wintering in the loch. Yet there are still many more opportunities to bring local fishermen onside and demonstrate the real economic potential of a healthy ecosystem. 

So, what ties all these needs together? In short, shared ambition, a co-governance and co-management model, capacity development and sustained funding.  

In Kat’s words ‘This community expertise and knowledge is vital and irreplaceable. And if we don’t value it, we risk losing it.’ So far, much of the community-led effort in MPAs has its foundation based on goodwill, volunteer efforts, and unreliable income from grant schemes. This risks exploitation and losing extremely valuable individuals and groups if economic factors mean they can no longer afford to give their time. If governmental funding can be allocated to provide each site with just a few full-time positions, MPAs could become valuable in every kind of way.