Focused leadership, expert staffing and an ‘early warning system’ will be key to meeting Scotland’s targets to restore nature, according to a new report released today by Scottish Environment LINK.
The coalition of more than 50 environment charities calls on the Scottish government to set ambitious but achievable targets, and makes a series of recommendations on how to ensure these are met in its report, ‘Hitting the targets: Delivering Scotland’s nature ambitions’.
Nature is in crisis globally, and in Scotland one in nine species is threatened with extinction. The Natural Environment Act, which became law this year, requires Scottish government ministers to set legally binding targets to restore Scotland’s wildlife and habitats.
Scotland is one of the most nature-depleted countries on the planet, ranking 212th out of 240 countries and territories for how much of its biodiversity remains. Yet it is home to habitats and species of global ecological significance, including peatlands, temperate rainforest and seabirds.
The new report calls on the Scottish government to set targets without delay. Restoring nature, say the report’s authors, will require, ‘a step change in how government operates, with the natural environment recognised as a core outcome across portfolios.’ They call for clear leadership from the responsible government minister, and funding that reflects the scale of the task.
The report also recommends the Scottish government makes greater use of experts in its nature restoration work. And since goals such as the recovery of native woodlands can take decades to achieve, the report calls for an early warning system that would measure actions like reducing deer densities and tackling invasive Rhododendron ponticum to assess whether its wider goals are on track.
The report emphasises the need for rapid action and sets out priority actions for the 2026-2031 Scottish Parliament, including early introduction of fisheries restrictions in inshore marine protected areas, reform of agricultural funding to help farmers and crofters restore nature and reduce climate emissions, and reform of forestry funding to support the natural regeneration of biodiverse woodlands.
Photo by Danny Carden
Read the report in full here.