The Scottish coast is one of its most valuable assets. It has great variety and beauty; it provides a wide range of natural habitats of national and international importance; is extensively used for recreation and leisure; and it continues to have immense economic importance as a base for fishing, manufacturing, energy supply and transport. No part of Scotland is more than 65 kilometres from the coast. For rural areas, the coast is where the bulk of the population live and many rural businesses depend directly or indirectly on the resources that it has to offer. The diversity of purposes that the coast serves leads inevitably to pressures on its resources and actual or potential conflicts between competing interests. Coastal areas are in demand for development related to the fishing industry, petrochemical industry, oil and gas extraction, waste and sewage disposal and transport. The coast provides the resources for fishing and aquaculture as well as small-scale activity such as cockle or seaweed harvesting. It is popular for tourism and this brings its own pressures for facilities and accommodation and the wear and tear of many people visiting the same area. These have an impact on the natural resources of the coast: its habitats and the wildlife that depends on them.