Published:
An environmental partnership has been announced between Heriot-Watt's Centre for Marine Biodiversity and Biotechnology and whisky distillers The Glenmorangie Company.
The Dornoch Firth Environmental Enhancement Project (DEEP) is a triple-helix partnership between Glenmorangie, Heriot-Watt University and the Marine Conservation Society and reflects the interests of the three institutions in the fields of marine environmental enhancement, mitigation and societal benefits.
We believe there is potential to achieve multiple benefits here whilst also invigorating environmental quality...
Announcing the development at the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt academics Dr William Sanderson and Dr Jose Farinas-Franco presented an environmental review of the Dornoch Firth revealing the historic and present-day distribution of shellfish habitats and other environmental factors.
The DEEP Project
The DEEP project seeks to evaluate the scope for environmental enhancement within the Dornoch Firth, to support the marine environment and to minimise any environmental impact of the distillery.
Dr Sanderson, principal investigator on the project, said “We are in the early stages of this partnership, which is an innovative initiative to address environmental challenges to the Dornoch Firth and to reconsider the standards for protected areas.
"We believe there is potential to achieve multiple benefits here whilst also invigorating environmental quality, and it is a potentially rewarding intersection between mitigation, biodiversity and ecosystem services to the local community.
"The DEEP project is now consolidating the evidence-base for environmental enhancement and building a practical platform to take these ideas forward.”