By Professor John Robertson OBA
BBC UK had this story and it’s getting fairly wide UK media coverage. I see little ‘Scottish’ media coverage but maybe they’re not up yet.
What’s it all about?
Seagrass is a wonder plant, the only true flowering plant in the sea. The meadows it creates in shallow and intertidal waters are home to a bewildering array of wildlife and are often likened to rainforests because of the thousands of species they provide food and shelter for. Scottish seas are a special place for marine habitats like seagrass, with our coast stretching 18,000 km and containing 8,000 species or more.
Seagrasses have another great advantage: their leaves and roots take in carbon dioxide and lock it away, making them great natural solutions to help tackle the climate crisis as well as reducing biodiversity loss. They can also improve water quality, reduce contamination in seafood, and act as the first line of defence along coasts by reducing wave energy, protecting people from the increasing risk of flooding and storms.
https://smeef.scot/largest-ever-scottish-seagrass-planting-programme-launched-by-unique-partnership/
Who is paying for it?
Restoring nature in Scotland’s seas will get a more than £2m funding boost, NatureScot announced today, detailing a new partnership to protect and restore Scottish seagrass meadows, with support from SSEN Distribution. This is believed to be the largest-ever single donation to marine enhancement in Scotland.
Since it was established, SMEEF has secured and awarded more than £3.3m to marine enhancement in Scotland. Ethical considerations are hugely important, so all proposals go through a bespoke due diligence process to underpin confidence in the programme. The partnership with SSEN is a successful example of this process.
There’s not a mention anywhere of the Scottish Government funding but I know from several previous announcements of major projects part -funded by business, sometimes part-funded by non-SNP councils, that any SNP involvement gets air-brushed out.
Who funds SMEEF, The Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund?
I had to search for some time to find this:
Core funding comes from Crown Estate Scotland, Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate and NatureScot (in-kind/hosting).
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://smeef.scot/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SMEEF-Impact-Report-2-FINAL-03-July-2024.pdf
This is clearly a Scottish Government-funded, tax-payer funded project so why is the media coverage not transparent?
Here’s the history of this deliberate deception:
There are more if you want at: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=Scottish+government+funded
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
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