EVALUATING ENVIRONMENTAL-PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT - THE CASE OF THE SHETLAND ISLANDS

The development of offshore hydrocarbon resources has frequently been characterised by considerable negative environmental, economic and soc ial impacts. The Shetland Islands have been noted as a successful exam ple of how a small local authority can successfully plan and manage su ch impacts. This paper focuses on the strategies and institutional arr angements utilised by the local authority in order to reduce and contr ol impacts from the development of hydrocarbon resources in the Shetla nd Basin in the decade beginning in 1970. It provides a hindsight eval uation of the measures taken to achieve the authority's goal of only a ccepting essential development which would not put at risk the traditi onal economic activities and social patterns of the Shetland community . The consistent application of the policy of insulation and containme nt of the major aspects of development proved appropriate in achieving this goal. This paper discusses the monitoring procedures established to record changes in environmental and socio-economic conditions over the last two devades, and the dimensions of the changes which have oc curred during this period. This paper concludes that the Shetland situ ation does indeed stand as a successful example of impact management a nd control, and, while Shetland has not emerged unchanged from two dec ades of oil-related development, it has managed to shield the traditio nal activities and way of life from much of the effects of the develop ment. the wreck of the tanker Braer in January 1993 serves as a remind er, however, of the vulnerability of areas such as Shetland to externa l circumstances beyond their control.