Climate change is an ever present issue which is plaguing the world as well as our beautiful Hebridean coasts.

The western coast of Scotland and in particular, the islands, are one of the places in the world where the effects of climate change are especially prevalent, both in our coasts and our weather systems. From Berneray to Eriskay, the difference in our landscape has changed dramatically in a very short period of time. “The Hebridean way posts, which was the original coastline for the Hebridean way, has moved 6m in less than 10 years” says Eilidh MacInnes in our recent Young Uist Voices series. 

As a surveyor to trade, Eilidh currently works in the renewable energy sector.  “The spotlight is very much on our industry and on the energy industry as a whole.” This spotlight highlights the question of: “How we’re going to transition from oil and gas into renewables. There’s currently an awakening that it’s not all about the economy, we now have to have a real focus on the environment and the social situation too.”

In the Uist environment at the moment, there is evidence of severe flooding and coastal  erosion particularly on our west coast and we are in need of some urgent solutions to combat these. This winter, in November 2022, we have seen some townships be completely cut-off because of flooding. Some children have travelled to school in the mornings with the coastguard!

We currently see wind turbines and solar panels in our Windy Western Isles, but it would also be a step forward for us to take advantage of ALL of our natural resources.

“Tidal power is a no-brainer for somewhere like Uist.” Says Eilidh “When you’re talking about climate change we also need a mixture of smaller scale protections. We need erosion protection, we need drainage and we need these bite sized pieces which also make for a more secure outlook”

A well known, albeit very expensive local solution, would be to replace our causeways, which connect us all the way from Eriskay to Berneray, with bridges. The causeways currently act as a dam which don’t allow the natural currents to flow as they should. However, Eilidh is looking to the more realistic solutions we may have.

“We need schemes relative to the size of the place. Uist is not vast so we don’t need a big vast solution, the towns need a different solution to the rural places. There’s real value in looking at what will work within the local economies and parish level work is valuable. We need to have more municipal schemes.”

“Our world is resilient, we have to be resilient and so I think that it’s very positive that we are talking about these issues. Each and every one of us has to do our own thing for our little patch”

You can hear Eilidh MacInnes speak more about this topic in the Young Uist Voices interview.