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Ecologist attacks choice of new Cairngorms Park Chief Executive |
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The following report by John Ross appeared in
the Scotsman of 8 May 2004
An expert on the Cairngorms has criticised the appointment of the new chief executive of the area’s national park. Dr Adam Watson, a well-known ecologist, said the news this week that Jane Hope will become the permanent head of the Cairngorms National Park Authority showed that the body had failed to find someone with a "credible reputation" in conservation and management of protected areas. Mrs Hope has been acting chief executive of the authority since February last year, and has held a similar post at the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. Dr Watson said: "The post of chief executive for the park authority is crucial. "The Scottish Executive should have advertised internationally to secure someone with recognised expertise in the conservation and management of outstanding protected areas. "The Executive has failed to appoint someone with a credible reputation in these fields. For a park that has already had such a bad start, this will be viewed as a further let-down to conservation interests of national and international importance." Mrs Hope was chosen from 70 applicants for the job. Announcing her appointment this week, Andrew Thin, the park authority’s convener, said she was the outstanding candidate for the post and that the authority was lucky to have her. Mrs Hope joined the civil service in the early 1990s, working in the Department of the Environment. She moved to the Scottish Executive in 1999, where she led the team that drafted the National Parks (Scotland) Bill and guided it through the parliament. |
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