Develop effective species recovery, reintroduction and reinforcement programmes drawing on partnership work on Species at Risk prioritisation, Species on the Edge programme, and evaluation of drivers.
Objective 4: Protect and support the recovery of vulnerable and important species and habitats
Priority Action 21. Develop effective species reintroduction and reinforcement programmes.
Species recovery and reintroduction activity is ongoing in Scotland through partnership programmes such as Species on the Edge and wider Species at Risk work. These programmes involve NatureScot, NGOs, and local partners delivering targeted conservation actions for priority species. However, there is no single published national programme or framework setting out a coordinated approach to species recovery, reintroduction, and reinforcement across Scotland, or linking these activities systematically to identified drivers of decline.
Targeted species recovery programmes are supported by strong ecological evidence, with NatureScot and partner projects demonstrating that coordinated action (e.g. habitat management, population reinforcement, threat reduction) can improve the status of individual species.
Programmes such as Species on the Edge provide evidence of place-based, partnership-led delivery for species conservation in Scotland. However, ecological impact at national scale depends on a coordinated framework, prioritisation, and scaling of successful interventions.
As current activity is fragmented across projects rather than delivered through a single national programme, ecological benefits are real but limited in scale and consistency.
Develop and implement national plans for conserving species groups for which Scotland holds internationally important populations including lichens and bryophytes (end of 2025), freshwater pearl mussels (end of 2028), herptiles (end of 2025) and national curlew plan (end of 2027).
Undertake measures to reduce human pressures to give habitats and species (especially specialists; arctic/alpine) more chance of surviving and improve the status of red listed species in Scotland.
Assess genetic diversity risks across Scotland and ensure mitigation of genetic diversity risks via Gene Conservation Units and other means. Genetic Scorecards for 50 marine and terrestrial species compiled and published by end 2025. Twenty-five Gene Conservation Units registered by mid-2025, with 50 registered by end-2028.
Raise public awareness of science and practice around conservation translocations through public engagement.
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