Issue 163 | March 2026

Hello and a warm welcome to all our readers. March has arrived and so too a new issue of the Voice for Arran. It truly felt like spring here yesterday, the sun bright, deepening the colours of the crocuses, and warming this corner of the world. Today it feels like a little lapse back into winter, including trying to take in the grim news of war breaking out in the Middle East this weekend. It has once again dropped me into life’s constant ebb and flow, of hope and despair, joy and sorrow, and the ongoing task of finding a way to make space for all these. So without covering over the dark shadow of conflict, there is much in this issue – news from the past weeks and events to look forward – to pull us tentatively, or firmly, into the brightness of the season.

And there is much to celebrate! In Scotland the government has passed the Natural Environment Act and is also progressing with the Ecocide Bill. Both have been welcomed by environmental groups as making real and substantial steps towards better protections for nature. Writing for Scottish Environment Link, Juliet Caldwell comments, “After over a decade of sustained pressure, Scotland will now have a Natural Environment Act on the statute book. Its passage marks a significant shift: nature recovery is no longer just a policy aspiration but a legal responsibility.”

A similar message comes from Sally Campbell, reporting on the ratification of the Global Ocean Treaty. In January, world governments committed to protect at least 30% of the oceans by 2030. She writes, “The Treaty is now international law – the most significant victory for ocean protection and restoration. Greenpeace has been campaigning for 15 years… Together with many organisations and hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, all have worked tirelessly for this victory.”

Elsewhere there has been a progressive shift towards protecting our democratic right of peaceful protest. After years of increasingly regressive laws restricting this essential part of our democracy, last month the High Court ruled that the UK Government’s proscription in 2025 of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation was unlawful. In a powerful piece Sue Weaver relates her personal experience, of her decision to protest in this criminalized context as well as her subsequent arrest. Her actions remind us that the courage to publicly dissent in the face of violent repression is what has “extended and protected our freedoms over hundreds of years.”

Back here on Arran, a different kind of democratic structure is highlighted. In separate articles, Sally Campbell and John Crawford (on behalf of the Arran Portrait project) make a convincing case for strengthening the community’s voice. With a rising feeling of discontent (at being ignored by statutory bodies), Sally asks why are we not engaging with the structures in place to do this? As our most local tier of statutory representation, the Arran Community Council has the potential to be an effective means of making our priorities and concerns heard but it is up to us to create the vibrant, knowledgeable and responsive organisation that we need. This means "more discussion meetings with ACC and islanders, of all ages and localities. Creative discussions and openness to learning what is possible.”

Tomorrow is the start of the Arran Environment Week, a festival packed with inspiring events and activities, bringing people together to learn, collaborate and take positive climate action. Amidst the ongoing troubles in the wider world, it is good to be able to engage in such positive energy "of nature, people and place," an energy which could potentially be harnessed for our community's wider democratic empowerment in the weeks to come?

Elsa