NatureScot Business Plan

Year One of a nature-rich future

NatureScot is Scotland’s nature agency. We work to improve nature in Scotland and inspire Scotland’s people to care more about it.  This is the first annual business plan in support of A nature-rich future for all – our Corporate Plan for 2022-2026. 

A lot has changed in the last 4 years.  What has become clearer than ever though is that nature and the climate are in crisis. It is also clear that the link between the nature crisis and the climate emergency is so strong it makes no sense to tackle both separately. Big problems need big, bold actions. The Scottish people have laid down the challenge to get on with it. The Scottish Government along with nations around the world, is responding with new agreements, policies, investments and action. But, we need to urgently pick up the pace.

Our vision is clear. A nature-rich future is the only credible one for Scotland and it means radically changing how we use the land and sea to meet nature’s needs and to unleash the power of nature to solve our problems. Nature must be the first choice in helping people in Scotland to deal with the impacts of climate change and other problems in society. To achieve this we will focus on three priorities:

• Protecting Nature by expanding protected areas, regulating species management, and delivering effective planning advice on land and at sea
• Restoring Nature through a new biodiversity strategy, restoring peatlands, aiding nature’s recovery and transforming farming
• Valuing Nature so that the many benefits it provides to society can in turn attract public, private and social enterprise expertise, support and financing for both protection and restoration 

We know that we cannot deliver a nature-rich future on our own.

So, we want to work with partners across Scotland’s public sector. We also need to work with managers of the land and sea, local communities and businesses, and with the third sector towards a net zero nature-rich future.

We know that if we restore nature it can also contribute as much as 40% of the carbon emissions reductions needed to fuel Scotland’s drive for net zero carbon emissions by 2045. Overall management of the land and sea must be in line with limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Meanwhile, we must build our resilience and adapt to the warming that is already happening.

It’s important that no-one is worse off in the shift to a nature-rich, net zero Scotland. It is equally important that its benefits are shared equally. This means investment in nature needs to create good jobs, strengthen communities and support businesses.

That will lead to significant change. We won’t have a nature-rich future unless we value nature more. Human, social and economic capital are all necessary ingredients for our prosperity. Natural capital is now being added to that list. Decision makers and investors will do things differently if society, and its institutions, rules and regulations place more value on the benefits of nature.

2022/23 Focus

The Scottish Government’s Environmental Strategy for Scotland states that “We have a clearer picture than ever before of the crises in our climate and our natural world. Global assessments have highlighted the scale and urgency of action needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change and to halt the loss of the Earth's biodiversity.” Our vision of a nature rich future for all aligns with the Strategy’s vision of ‘One Earth. One home. One shared future’.

With the Scottish Government, we lead on the development and delivery of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy. The strategy is due to be launched in late 2022. It will guide our efforts to protect and restore nature in Scotland for the rest of this decade.

To deliver our work we promote nature-based solutions, which deliver multiple benefits and can help to fix societal problems. Working with nature will provide benefits for both human well-being and biodiversity. 

Our Natural Capital are the elements of nature that provide benefits to people – species, habitats, soils and and seas and we use it to ensure that we account for all the benefits that nature provides.  It also ensures that we can account for damage to nature. 

Using the Just Transition principles we will support a net zero and climate resilient economy in a way that delivers benefits to all. And by applying a place based approach to our work will help achieve a thriving, healthy and safe Scotland where people are connected with, and benefiting from nature. 

The Programme for Government (PfG) further supports this by committing to deliver a ‘Fairer, Greener Scotland’.  We will respond to the commitments in the PfG through a range of activities:

• Promote land management practices which protect and enhance nature through the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme programme by improving water quality, managing flood risk and mitigate and adapt to climate change and improve public access
• Delivering deer, grouse and wildlife management solutions to protect sites, species and support effective land management
• Protect 30x30 on land and sea with a further 10% highly protected in marine areas to safeguard our ecosystems
• Support the development of at least one new National Park which will preserve the natural environment
• Deliver a new £13m Nature Restoration Fund supporting projects that address the biodiversity and climate crisis by putting Scotland's species, woodlands, rivers and seas back on the road to recovery
• Steer the delivery of ScotWind developments to help promote Scotland as a world leader for offshore wind
• Further advance the Natural Capital Pilot Programme
• Lead peatland restoration to restore the millions of hectares of peatland in poor condition across Scotland

Our priorities focus on Protecting, Restoring and Valuing Nature.  During 2022/23 we will focus on keys area of work to significantly progress us towards our Corporate Plan goals.  All of our work is supported by the NatureScot Way approach, inspiring others and putting our expertise at the heart of Scotland’s future.  To evidence delivery of our annual Business Plan, we have included key performance indicators which cover the areas of work.  Our progress against these will be reported through our Annual Report and Accounts.

Protecting Nature

Strengthened protection of existing biodiversity

The degradation of nature threatens our society and the wellbeing of future generations. A nature-rich future starts with halting biodiversity loss by protecting what we have now. During 2022/23 we will:

• Develop a new approach to protecting 30% of Scottish land and sea by 2030 helping to protect biodiversity and strengthening the range of protected areas
• Support the development of at least one new National Park
• Deliver species management recommendations developing new deer management legislation and revised beaver, and white eagle management frameworks
• Deliver an enabling and responsive licensing service including developing new licencing approaches for grouse moor management and muirburn
• Deliver invasive non-native species controls and reduce the biodiversity impacts of established invasive non-native species
• Engage and influence the planning and other regulatory regimes including  marine planning and fisheries management frameworks to ensure they deliver for nature and climate

More of Scotland is under additional legal protection and plans are being prepared to secure additional protection

• New frameworks to manage species conflicts are in place which secure species protection
• Greater protection for nature is secured through activities relating to development management, fisheries and marine management

Key Performance Indicators

• Reducing Deer Numbers
• Area (hectare) of woodlands restored
• % of licenses issued that comply with the conditions required of them
• Number of MPAs that we have monitored - Are we seeing raptors where we should be?

Restoring Nature

Halt the loss of Biodiversity by 2030 and restore nature by 2045

Protecting the nature we have will not be enough to secure or maintain net zero, or to turn the corner into a nature positive future, for the sake of what it provides for us and its intrinsic value. We must also restore nature’s lost abundance and variety. During 2022/23 we will:

• Co-lead the production of the new Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and develop statutory targets to drive implementation of a new Natural Environment Bill
• Deliver an increase in the hectares of peatland put on the road to recovery
• Develop new approaches, with SG and other delivery bodies, to achieve a step-change in the scale of peatland restoration
• Deliver a new £13m Nature Restoration Fund targeted at high impact nature recovery projects and drawing in greater investment from the private sector
• Trial agriculture transformation through Piloting Outcome Based Solutions scheme and a Farm Biodiversity Audit test programme and delivery of the Agri-Environmental Scheme
• Deliver investment through the Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund (SMEEF) to promote recovery and enhancement of our coasts and seas

We have shaped a world leading strategy to restore Scotland’s biodiversity with an ambitious action plan and broad support for delivery

• More nature is on the road to restoration through delivering a range of existing and new financial incentives
• We have developed a natural capital assessment template and biodiversity audit that will enable all farmers to take action for nature

Key Performance Indicators

• Area (hectares) of enhancements through Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund
• Hectares of land managed under plans supported through agricultural support schemes (future measure (% of plans meeting targets)
• Area (hectares) improved for habitats and species through the nature restoration fund
• Area (hectares) of peatland put on the road to recovery

Valuing Nature

The value of nature is reflected throughout public and private sector policy, strategy and investment towards a wellbeing economy

We will come to value nature for what it does for people, as well as its intrinsic value, fully accounting for it in what we do. Doing so will create the conditions to do more to protect our natural capital and to secure wider investment in nature. During 2022/23 we will:

• Help develop the new regulatory, policy, market and institutional infrastructure needed on Private Investment in Natural Capital and establish a programme of investment readiness support
• Develop a spatial investment prospectus for Scotland and pilot an initiative on our own land with a biodiversity metric to guide and verify natural capital public and private investment
• Promote understanding and awareness of skills and capacity needed to protect and restore nature and realise its role in addressing societal problems
• Refine, adapt and re-test the Land Holding Natural Capital Assessment Template and develop a Landscape Scale Natural Capital Assessment tool.
• Build the resilience of our National Nature Reserves to support visitor management pressures and ensure positive experiences for visitors

Increased capacity for nature based skills development in the nature sector in support of a green recovery

• We have a clear set of investment ready proposals for private investment
• Our people related activities strengthen engagement to protect and restore nature

Key Performance Indicators

• Nature-based jobs and skills opportunities
• No. of landholdings undertaking a publicly supported natural capital approach
• National Nature Reserves online engagement

What does success look like?

Hectares of Green Infrastructure improved

The NatureScot Way

Our passion, inspiration and expertise will put nature at the heart of Scotland’s future

Our Shared Values are the foundations we build everything on. Our Shared Experience is how we collectively realise our values and Our Shared Behaviours are how we live our values. During 2022/23 we will:

• Develop and roll out tools to facilitate better collaboration including new intranet and more M365 functionality
• Pilot new ways of working through networked teams and job families to increase flexibility and agility, supporting staff with the development of new skills required to deliver our ambition and create a workforce fit for the future
• Take forward our estates strategy to ensure that our workplaces and how we use them are fit for purpose in a changed world and aligned with our net zero ambition
• Make better use of our corporate and environmental data to inform our decision making through a renewed focus on business intelligence
• Continue to increase the diversity of our workforce and those enjoying nature through partnership action and our programme for youth employment

What does success look like?

• Improved leadership capability across NatureScot
• Strengthened performance culture
• We deliver our 6% annual emission reduction target towards Net Zero by 2035
• Successful Corporate Plan launch
• Progress on resourcing

Key Performance Indicators

• % of workforce diversity
• % of emission reduction
• Reach in mainstream media
• Impact of public facing campaigns

Our Resources

Our funding comprises our Grant-in-Aid of £49.561m plus additional ring-fenced funding for a Nature Restoration Fund and Scotwind Licencing increase our total budget to £64.061m.  We also have additional funding that we receive or administer to support and deliver our strategic priorities.  Together this provides us with £75.361m to invest in nature.

This investment will contribute to a range of Government priorities, and deliver across all our Outcomes. Through our role in supporting the Agri-environmental Climate Scheme, and administering the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), in 2022/23, we facilitate the distribution of a one-year commitment of around £4m in agriculture and rural development, and around £11.300m ERDF funding, providing investment in green infrastructure and tourism.

Our budget

Resourcing our plan

Each year we set out to deliver the Outcomes from our Corporate Plan. To do this our resources are allocated through the activities we undertake. These activities provide an emphasis on flexible working across the organisation. The tables opposite show the budget and resource allocation by these activities for 2022/23.

NatureScot is Scotland’s nature agency. We work to improve nature in Scotland and inspire Scotland’s people to care more about it.

This is the fourth and final annual business plan in support of Connecting People and Nature - our corporate plan for 2018-2022.  A lot has changed since that plan was first published but what has become clearer than ever is the importance of our connectedness with nature.

The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated this, on both a global level, with clear links being identified between the degradation of nature and increasing pandemic risk; and at a local level where the nature on our doorsteps has become so important to our physical and mental wellbeing during lockdowns and restrictions.

The same human activities that drive biodiversity loss and climate change also drive pandemic risk through their impacts on our environment. We will lead with a coherent, evidence-based approach to secure a nature-rich future for Scotland by enriching biodiversity and leading nature-based solutions to climate change.

We continue to pursue this vision through delivery of the four outcomes set out in Connecting People and Nature:

• More people from across Scotland are enjoying and benefiting from nature
• The health and resilience of Scotland’s nature is improved
• More investment in the management of Scotland’s natural capital to improve prosperity and wellbeing
• We have transformed how we work

2021/22 Focus

A key factor in the re-emergence from Covid-19 will be the path we set ourselves. A green recovery is low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive. It addresses the twin challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss as central components of a more resilient and inclusive economy.

We have identified a set of priority actions with emphasis on our leadership role with biodiversity and climate change actions and our support for a green recovery. Those priorities will support our core offers of:

• advancing nature-based solutions to promote a thriving environment;
• leading net zero natural resource management on land and sea; and
• redefining economic value by embedding the benefits of natural capital.

This will ensure that we focus our resources where they can maximise impact. We will do this by working collaboratively with public and private sectors to identify and drive investment in green recovery actions.  These will deliver across our priorities and challenge us to consider new and inspiring ways to engage people with nature.

The table overleaf shows how our outcomes, priorities and core offer link together to achieve our ambition to enrich biodiversity and lead nature-based solutions to climate change in order to deliver our long-term vision of a nature–rich future for Scotland.

Our drivers of Enriching biodiversity and leading nature-based solutions to climate change are supported by our Vision for the Future, our in year priorities and the Outcomes we will deliver

Our vision - a nature-rich future

We all need nature. Nature needs us.  NatureScot brings us together.  Join us and make an impact.

Our strategic priorities

• Enriching biodiversity
• Leading nature-based solutions to climate change

NatureScot’s purpose - We connect people with nature, through inspiring action to address the emergency in our natural world, because our future, and that of following generations, depends on it.

Our offer:

• Advancing nature-based solutions to promote a thriving environment for all;
• Tackling the climate emergency by leading net zero natural resource management on land and sea;
• Redefining economic value by embedding the benefits of natural capital.

We will do this by:

• Releasing our expertise to support nature recovery;
• Caring for nature so that it is there for future generations;
• Connecting people and nature so that everyone takes action to address the emergency in our natural world.

For whom

The people of Scotland

Our 2021/22 Priorities

• NatureScot will invest in action to reverse biodiversity loss and jointly lead the Scottish Biodiversity Programme
• NatureScot will help to transform use of land and sea so that it contributes even more to the future wellbeing economy
• NatureScot will support a step-change in use of Nature-based Solutions to climate change and other problems
• NatureScot will focus effort on mainstreaming natural capital approaches/accounting in decision-making
• NatureScot will help to grow and diversify environmental green finance
• NatureScot will invest in skills for a nature-rich future, especially in youth employment
• NatureScot will facilitate the role of nature in transforming places where people live
• NatureScot will support and encourage access to and enjoyment of nature
• NatureScot will accelerate peatland restoration through our Peatland Action Programme and collaboration with others
• NatureScot  will transform as an organisation to meet the demands of the future, including accelerating its transition to a net zero emissions organisation

The Outcomes we deliver

• More people from across Scotland are enjoying and benefiting from nature
• The health and resilience of Scotland’s nature is improved
• More investment in the management of Scotland’s natural capital to improve prosperity and wellbeing
• We have transformed how we work

Driving a Green Recovery

Global assessments have highlighted the scale and urgency of action needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change and to halt the loss of the Earth’s biodiversity.  Last year’s State of Nature Scotland Report highlighted the pressures on nature in our own country.

The Dasgupta review of The Economics of Biodiversity argues that solutions start by recognising our economies are embedded within Nature. We all manage these assets through our spending and investment decisions and need to be more literate on climate-nature.

NatureScot provide vital leadership capacity in Scotland in response to environmental crises and challenges. The Scottish Government was the first government in the world to declare a climate emergency in 2019, and announced an ambitious plan to become carbon neutral by 2045. We responded to this target by committing to net zero direct emissions by 2040, with a stretch target of 2035 for zero direct emissions and recognise we will need to undergo significant transformation over the next 15 years to achieve this.

Through our leadership by example, interventions in carbon sequestration such as leading peatland restoration and the advice we provide to ministers and Government through the expertise of our staff, we will ensure that Scotland’s reputation as a global climate leader is enhanced as Glasgow prepares to host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in November 2021. The COP26 summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The 2019 report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) identified the main drivers behind global biodiversity loss. Our response to this is to put in place a programme of work that addresses these drivers and moves us towards our vision that by 2030, Scotland is recognised as a world leader in looking after and improving nature.

NatureScot co-leads The Scottish Biodiversity Programme (SBP) with Scottish Government. The programme oversees and coordinates all current and planned activity on biodiversity, to secure a common understanding of priorities and an agreed approach to delivering them. This allows us to manage the volume of work and the high level of co-ordination required across the various organisations and delivery partners, ensuring that we are focused on achieving the most important deliverables.

Through our expertise and evidence we will support the Scottish Government’s contribution to the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Kunming, China in October 2021. The COP will review the achievement and delivery of the CBD’s Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020. It is also anticipated that the final decision on the post-2020 global biodiversity framework will be taken, together with decisions on related topics including capacity building and resource mobilization. We stand ready to lead on the delivery of commitments Scotland makes.

Scotland’s Environment Strategy, developed collaboratively with Scottish Government, provides an overarching framework to bring together strategies and plans and to identify new strategic priorities and opportunities. It guides us in the work we do to restore and enhance Scotland’s nature and to inspire people to care about it. Together with the Programme for Government it recognises the importance of nature as part of a Green Recovery as we look towards a future beyond Covid-19.  In doing this, we will support the wellbeing of people in Scotland and strengthen our economy.

Our video on a ‘Nature Rich Future’ hears from some of our staff each talking about how what they do will deliver a nature rich future and the ambitions they have for nature.

Our Resources  

Our funding comprises our Grant-in-Aid of £50.209m plus additional funding that we receive or administer to support and deliver our strategic priorities.  Together this provides us with £57.109m to invest in nature.

This investment will contribute to a range of Government priorities, and deliver across all our Outcomes.  Through our role in supporting the Scottish Rural Development Programme, and administering the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), in 2021/22, we facilitate the distribution of a one-year commitment of around £1.5m to SRDP in agriculture and rural development, and around £6.4m ERDF funding, providing investment in green infrastructure and tourism.

Resource Allocation by Activity

Each year we set out to deliver the 4 Outcomes from our Corporate Plan.  To do this our resources are allocated through the activities we undertake.  These activities provide an emphasis on flexible working across the organisation by focussing on our 10 priorities which in turn will deliver our Outcomes.  The table below show the budget and resource allocation by these activities.  Our Activities are grouped by Outcome listed on page 3.

NatureScot is Scotland’s nature agency.  For all of us within the organisation that means our role is to improve our natural environment in Scotland, and inspire everyone to care more about it. This is our core purpose and reflects the role given to us in Delivering for Today, Investing for Tomorrow: The Government’s Programme for Scotland. We recognise the important contribution that nature makes to a successful Scotland, and have set out our ambition in Connecting People and Nature, our Corporate Plan for 201822. 

It’s in our Nature: Year Two is our second annual Business Plan and shows the progress we are making in delivering on that ambition.  During Year One we highlighted the changes and the connections we wanted to make by organising our work around four Outcomes.  We also set out our ambition for leadership on biodiversity. 

In Year Two, we will build on this work by focusing on our priorities: biodiversity and wildlife management. To achieve these priorities we will continue to develop a range of new ways of working: from harnessing new technologies; to engaging in place-based approaches to ensure the successful delivery of all our Outcomes. 

This Business Plan focuses on our priorities but cannot cover all of the diverse work delivered by the organisation. We invest in projects across the length and breadth of Scotland. From the Orkney Native Wildlife Project in the north, to the South Scotland Golden Eagle Project in the Scottish Borders and Dumfries & Galloway, to the Central Scotland Green Network. Our work delivers benefits for people and nature across rural and urban Scotland.

Working in partnership helps encourage greater investment in nature, delivering projects that achieve far more than we could deliver on our own. A great example of this is the Biodiversity Challenge Fund. With backing from the Scottish Government, we have launched this in partnership with the National Lottery Heritage Fund to provide up to two million pounds for largescale projects across Scotland that are focussed on creating and improving habitats for key species and improving access to nature. 

NatureScot is proud to deliver for Scotland: It’s in our Nature.

Part One

Our Vision

Our vision is that all nature in Scotland – our key habitats, all our greenspace and our native species – is maintained, enhanced and brings us benefits. 

It’s our job to achieve a balance in the sensitive management of our natural world in order to maintain and enhance biodiversity.

A healthy environment is the basis of our quality of life and underpins our economy so it is vital that it is improved to benefit us now and for future generations.  

By 2030, Scotland is recognised as a world leader in looking after and improving nature. Everyone is involved; everyone benefits. Scotland is greener, healthier and more prosperous.   

Scotland’s nature is majestic and unique; an asset that provides us with a strong sense of identity and national pride and underpins our economic growth.   

Our natural environment is a vitally important part of what makes Scotland special. Our role is to promote, care for and improve Scotland’s nature.  

The promotion of understanding and enjoyment of nature will result in increased ownership, aiding the connections to a stronger sense of identity, increased levels of wellbeing and a stronger desire to tackle the impact of climate change.

Across NatureScot, our people are safeguarding Scotland’s nature, living the values we represent: passion, inspiration and expertise. 

Our Outcomes

We have identified, and are focusing on four key Outcomes, which put people and places, investment, nature and transforming the way we work at the heart of all we do.

In shaping these, we listened carefully to our stakeholders, reflected on their views and considered the priorities of Scottish Government. 

Our Outcomes cover areas of work we have been delivering for many years but they also provide us with an opportunity to take stock, to re-focus and to make sure that the work we do connects people and nature, reduces inequalities, tackles disadvantage and promotes fairness.

More people across Scotland are enjoying and benefiting from nature

Over 81% of Scots live in towns and cities but not everyone has access to good quality greenspace near where they live, and less than half of us have regular contact with nature. Everyone has a right to enjoy and benefit from the nature around us. Good quality nature encourages people to get outdoors, to get active and healthier and to become champions of nature.

The health and resilience of Scotland’s nature is improved

NatureScot is uniquely placed to lead the improvements Scotland must make for nature on both land and sea. This is in order to meet international obligations to restore degraded ecosystems, and to help both nature and people adapt to a changing climate. That way we ensure that Scotland’s nature retains its status among the best in the world.

There is more investment in Scotland’s natural capital and its management to improve prosperity and wellbeing

Scotland’s land, coasts and seas are always changing, both naturally and in response to choices we make about how we use them. The consequences of these choices can be complicated and they affect nature and people in many different ways and not always as desired. We will work in partnership to encourage businesses, communities and government to make more informed decisions, using evidence-based and innovative ‘nature based’ solutions that work for people, nature and climate.

We have transformed how we work

Achieving our vision and delivering our outcomes means that we must transform the way we work with others, and within NatureScot. We’ll do this by increasing the reach, visibility and influence of our communications. We will work collaboratively, listen and be responsive to others in pursuit of our ambition to connect people and nature. 

It’s in our Nature: Year Two – Our Plans for 2019/20

It’s in our Nature: Year Two is our second Business Plan in support of Connecting People and Nature. It sets out the priorities our Board have chosen to represent our ambition. 

This Business Plan is in two parts. Part One sets the context for each Outcome, where we want to be by 2022 and our focus for delivery in 2019/20. Part Two is more operational and sets out what we will do, how we are changing and prioritising our work, provides detail on how we organise ourselves by Activities, explains how we will invest our resources – both money and people – in support of those activities, and how the work we will undertake contributes to our Outcomes.

Outcome 1: More people are enjoying and benefiting from nature

Sally Thomas, Director of People and Nature 

The benefits that nature provides for us all reflects how well we as a society invest in and care for it.  This depends on our relationships and contact with nature.

Access to nature and high-quality places, including greenspace, supports direct benefits such as, opportunities for active travel and providing locally produced food as well as additional benefits, including improved physical and mental health and wellbeing and reduced inequalities.  Our national remit and local presence means we are uniquely placed to ensure that nature’s benefits are prominent in policy, strategy and delivery on the ground.  

We will develop and drive forward a wide range of place-based partnerships across education, health and planning.  For example, our work with Community Planning and Health & Social Care Partnerships enables us to champion the benefits of nature and through the provision of funding and advice, ensuring that people and nature are firmly at the centre of place-based approaches to a low-carbon economy. 

The more people enjoy and benefit from nature the more they are likely to champion it. This in turn helps investment in and improvement of nature across Scotland.  

Where we want to be by 2022

We will be actively involved in creating better places for nature and people, enabling more local communities across Scotland to enjoy health and wellbeing benefits. We will be assisting more communities to be involved in the planning, management and use of local places, adopting the principles of the Scottish Government/COSLA statement on place-based working in our approach.

We will be working with new funding streams such as City Deals, Regional Economic Partnerships and the Scottish Futures Trust to secure more investment in greenspace in areas where it will have the greatest impact. 

Our National Nature Reserves (NNRs) will be inspiring people to love nature, providing opportunities for all, and actively engaging more people in the care and enjoyment of these special places. 

We will be supporting and working with a range of partnerships and projects to encourage more people to get outdoors more often, supporting key Government priorities for public health, early years and attainment.

Our focus for 2019/20

Our focus is on place making, targeted investment in green infrastructure and strategic path networks, and helping more people to connect with and benefit from nature through outdoor learning, volunteering and recreation.  

We will strengthen our support for place-based approaches, identifying a suite of local projects we will provide sustained support to and building the capacity of our organisation to help local communities put nature at the heart of placemaking activity across Scotland. 

Through evidence, learning and demonstration projects, we will continue to make the case for preventative spend on greenspace to support key Government priorities for public health, early years and attainment.

NNRs are at the heart of connecting people and nature, and we plan to reinvigorate them by significantly elevating their role in our communications, highlighting their value for nature and encouraging more people to visit and volunteer.  

Our Highlight

Placemaking

Complete Phase 1 of the Green Infrastructure Fund Projects and fund new projects through Phase 2.  We will also provide advice to local or settlement scale plans and projects encouraging them to look for place based opportunities to connect more people with nature and facilitate active and healthier lifestyles as part of the transition to a low-carbon economy.

We will deliver this by:

• Getting Phase 2 Green Infrastructure Fund projects underway.
• Providing specialist support to placemaking activity, focusing our effort on areas of greatest need and opportunity to enable more people to benefit from nature 
• Progressing the key actions and recommendations from ReRoute (Scotland's Youth Biodiversity Panel) to improve young people’s engagement with nature and the environment.
• Developing recommendations for post-EU support mechanisms to deliver green infrastructure and benefits for people and nature.

Adding value for people and nature in Scotland

Our work will:

• Promote the multiple benefits of nature to Scotland’s people.
• Inspire Scots to love nature by providing opportunities for people to engage directly with nature on our National Nature Reserves.
• Increase opportunities for active travel by extending and upgrading the National Walking and Cycling Network.
• Encourage more people to get outdoors more often, supporting key Government priorities for public heath, early years attainment and addressing inequalities.

Outcome 2: The health and resilience of Scotland’s nature is improved

Sally Thomas, Director of People and Nature 

Scotland's rich and diverse natural environment is a national asset which contributes hugely to our economy and to our wider sense of wellbeing. However, competing pressures for use of our land and sea will continue to have a

significant impact on the condition and range of Scotland’s nature – markedly so in the next 10 years as we move towards the low-carbon pathway required to address climate change. 

Building resilience for the future includes restoring ecosystems, reversing considerable declines from the 1950s to the early 2000s, reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and moving towards a low-carbon economy by 2030 to avoid dangerous levels of climate change. These actions will also help nature and people adapt to a changing climate in order to deliver the widespread benefits healthy and resilient nature brings to all parts of our society.  Investing in nature can also contribute to mitigating some of the effects of climate change.

We will lead delivery of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and associated Route Map to 2020, and develop a plan for action beyond 2020 to address new international obligations and ensure that Scotland’s nature continues to flourish.  

Working with partners in Government and wider stakeholders we will help to develop a shared evidence base to provide clearer priorities for land and sea and to enhance stewardship of the environment, including protected areas. We need to tackle the state of nature and climate change together, in light of our changing relationship with Europe from where much of the current statutory and policy framework stems. 

Where we want to be by 2022

By 2022 we will be leading a programme of work to ensure that Scotland meets the new challenges set by the international community with regard to biodiversity and climate. Scotland’s nature will be protected and enhanced and recognised as a key asset for the health and wellbeing of our country.

We remain committed to safeguarding and enhancing the most important and vulnerable areas for habitats, species populations and geology. We also recognise the need to ensure that these are not managed in isolation, and that they make a positive contribution to, and enrich the state of, nature in Scotland. 

We will develop new approaches for improving the health of our seas, providing advice on the protection of Priority Marine Features and Marine Protected Areas (MPA), and working to take a collaborative approach to the integrated management of marine and coastal resources. 

We will work in partnership to develop a new ecosystem based approach to the management of protected areas; while delivering a new fit for purpose surveillance and monitoring approach that makes use of new technologies such as Earth Observation, to inform it.

Our focus for 2019/20

We will lead Scotland’s delivery against the Aichi targets, prepare for the new challenges arising from new international targets for biodiversity in 2020 and ensure that we are maintaining, protecting and enhancing Scotland’s nature.

Addressing habitat fragmentation and biodiversity loss through a network approach will complement our work on protected areas, viewing them not in isolation but as functioning parts of the wider landscape and tackling climate change and nature together.

We will continue to support large-scale restoration works for peatlands and wetlands, which are great for nature as well as delivering a wide range of social benefits including reducing flood risks and the costs of water treatment.  We will draw on international expertise to guide and showcase our work in this field, and work with communities of place and interest to define problems and to design and implement solutions.

We will trial co-production of a regional MPA management plan in the Outer Hebrides.  

Our Highlight

Biodiversity

Lead implementation of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and manage the Biodiversity Challenge Fund to protect and promote nature.

We will deliver this by:

• Managing the Biodiversity Challenge Fund to invest up to £2m in projects that will deliver progress towards the Aichi targets.
• Demonstrate how better investment in nature based solutions can contribute to targets for climate, health, education, active travel and supporting a low-carbon economy
• Targeting our funding towards larger, more impactful projects that deliver on our four Outcomes.

Adding value for people and nature in Scotland

Our work will:

• Provide strong leadership on biodiversity and inspire Scots to love nature.
• Working with partners to take forward the IUCN recommendations on wildcat populations.
• Provide funding, through Peatland Action, to continue the restoration of damaged peatlands across Scotland, as part of our contribution to the Scottish Government’s Climate Change Plan.
• Support Marine Scotland in completing a well-managed Scottish
• Create a coherent programme of monitoring for Scotland’s nature, including considering the potential offered by new technologies
• Advise Scottish Government on the role of nature-based solutions within the Climate Change Adaptation Programme, emphasising that nature is part of the toolkit for climate change adaptation.

Nick Halfhide, Director of Sustainable Growth

Through our strategic leadership we will ensure the economic benefit of Scotland’s natural assets is sustained.  Our focus will be on the economic benefits that people derive from development and good management of our land, sea and wildlife. Well-made investment increases prosperity and underpins the nation’s future wellbeing.

We will use our influence and expertise, to build consensus and partnerships to deliver for Scotland’s nature and climate goals. We will develop our relationships with the Scottish Government and other funders, economic development agencies, key business sectors and primary producers to deliver this.

Through these relationships we will seek greater consensus on how our natural resources, particularly in our extensive uplands, can be managed to improve outcomes for nature and a low-carbon economy. 

Where we want to be by 2022

Our strategic approach to wildlife management will better reflect a changing world, and integrate the needs of people and land management by pursuing more consistent, adaptive and affordable approaches. This will require us to provide leadership for change, through ongoing dialogue and clear communication, challenging practice which may not be sustainable, and promoting alternatives that equip and empower wildlife managers in their role.

The value our services provide in supporting business and development through the Planning system and other regulatory regimes will be enhanced by an increasingly enabling and targeted approach, helping developers identify opportunities for investment that will sustain future prosperity. This will require us to invest more of our own resources in developing tools, processes and skills to support the change and manage any risks.

We will be actively engaged in shaping and supporting the transition to a new national land use support framework that better secures multiple benefits for people, climate and nature in the most efficient way. This will require flexibility in the resources we deploy.

We will have built new partnerships and strengthened existing ones that have the reach within key sectors that can best help fulfil the full breadth of our ambitions for this outcome.  This will require strategic judgement and outreach skills and that we look closely at those which no longer merit the same level of involvement

Our focus for 2019/20

The focus for this outcome is to demonstrate how people, the climate and the economy can benefit from investments in nature, to pursue opportunities for investment and to maximise the benefits and impacts that this brings. We will deliver this ambition through our work with enterprise, rural and marine development, and wildlife management interests.  

We will maintain our role as a delivery partner for the SRDP  as the transition to a new programme begins  We will build on this to shape replacements for the Common Agricultural and Fisheries Policies so that they maximise the benefits for Connecting People and Nature. 

We will continue to encourage the development of partnerships for delivering these policies at a more local, landscape scale. 

We will maintain our more active, targeted approach to deer management, and report on progress to Ministers alongside the findings of their independent Working Group.  We will continue to deliver our licensing functions, alongside other mitigation measures for wildlife impacts including the INNS control projects to which we are already committed. 

Our work on Planning for Great Places will continue to support Scottish Government’s commitment to plan-led development and the transition to a low-carbon economy through the development of renewable energy resources on land and at sea.

Our Highlight

Wildlife Management

We will work to ensure healthy populations of our native wildlife, reduce the impacts of invasive non-native species, and balance this to achieve the best combination of benefits for a low-carbon economy, environment and people.  We will deliver this by:

• Running existing goose management schemes and developing strategic approaches including flyway plans and self-help adaptive management.
• Providing effective, timely advice on sustainable deer management, backed by targeted use of our regulatory powers of intervention, and report on progress to the Cabinet Secretary in autumn 2019.
• Implementing the Scottish Beaver Mitigation Scheme and working closely with the Scottish Beaver Forum.

Adding value for people and nature in Scotland

Our work will:

• Secure improved management of wildlife by working closely with land and wildlife managers to identify shared objectives, managing conflicts by focusing on adaptive management approaches.
• Help society to understand and accept where wildlife management is necessary to balance the needs of people and nature.
• Provide decision makers with advice on marine and terrestrial development proposals that helps them to balance the interests of nature, people and a low-carbon economy.
• Closely support Marine Scotland on fisheries management and aquaculture.
• Raise the profile of the marine and freshwater environment during Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters in 2020.
• Provide leadership on natural capital by publishing the annual Natural Capital Index and developing natural capital accounts for NatureScot.

Outcome 4: We have transformed how we work

Jane Macdonald, Director of Business Services & Transformation

Through transforming how we work, we will enable achievement of our corporate plan ambitions to connect people and nature. To build a successful, sustainable and resilient organisation, we will increase our investment in our workforce talent and wellbeing, build our leadership capacity and go on evolving our ways of working.

We will continue our efforts to be inclusive and diverse, and ensure that we promote equality and fairness in all that we do.

We will continuously improve how we perform, achieving greater simplification and further efficiencies by being more innovative, investing in digital technologies, diversifying our funding and sharing services with other public bodies.

We will work closely with communities and partners to achieve the best for Scotland’s nature, so that our services to the people of Scotland are locally responsive, and designed in a citizen-centred and collaborative way. 

We will further develop our outcome-based approach so we are clear on the impact we are having, and the contribution we are making to the Programme for Government and the National Performance Framework outcomes. 

As we transform how we work, we will also keep focused on delivering services, facilities and infrastructure internally to underpin the day to day work of all our Outcomes.

Where we want to be by 2022

As we look to 2022 and beyond we will be a creative, innovative, enabling and inspiring organisation; digitally confident and responsive to the needs of Scotland’s people. We will have developed new approaches using technology to ensure our evidence base and the knowledge and expertise of our staff is available to the right people at the right time to inform and shape decisions about nature.

Our internal processes will increase efficiency and make use of new technologies to support the full breadth of our ambition. This includes helping us to further reduce our carbon emissions and to deliver in more innovative, inclusive and empowering ways. 

Scotland’s nature and climate change mitigation relies on the support of Scotland’s people.  We will increase the visibility and influence of our communications, concentrating on the benefits that nature provides for Scotland; and build trust and confidence through listening to the needs of people and our partners.  We will be confident in promoting our successes and leadership role, inspiring and influencing others to invest in nature as part of Scotland’s inclusive, and sustainable economic growth.

Our focus for 2019/20

We will ensure that our workforce is fit for the future, through a new Organisational Development Framework; focussing on workforce wellbeing and skills development, organisation design, innovation through technology and working in partnership.

We will transform our workplaces to encourage smarter, more flexible, dynamic and collaborative working.

We will continue our journey of digital transformation improving engagement with the people of Scotland; and investing in technologies including Earth Observation and Remote Sensing.

We will increase the sharing of our knowledge, information and data, making sure we provide information at the right time to inform decisions about nature, and work to further enhance our evidence base.

We will strengthen our corporate identity to extend our influence and demonstrate the value and relevance of NatureScot’s work for people, nature and climate.

We will identify alternative funding streams to achieve greater investment in nature and support delivery of Connecting People with Nature

Our Highlight

Harnessing technology to benefit nature

Develop our capacity to utilise new technologies to improve environmental monitoring, particularly Earth Observation and remote sensing, to better inform decisions about the management of nature and to create a stronger public profile for the role and work of NatureScot. 

We will deliver this by:

• Investing in the skills and capacity that will allows us to utilise new technologies. The investment we make over the remaining 3 years of Connecting People and Nature offers the opportunity to deliver significant savings for reinvestment in delivery of our priorities.
• Using social media to increase the reach of our communications and awareness brand and corporate identity.

Adding value for people and nature in Scotland

Our work will:

• Make the best use of our resources to maximise investment in nature.
• Deliver a national service through a local presence across Scotland.  
• Contribute to a low carbon economy by taking a leadership role in reducing our carbon emissions.
• Improve our leadership capacity and develop a more resilient and inclusive workforce.
• Make more of our information about nature available to the public. 
• Take a more strategic approach to communications by developing a clear ‘call to action’ based around our key priorities: biodiversity and wildlife management. 

Our Resources

Our funding comprises our Grant-in-Aid of £46.5m plus additional funding that we receive or administer to support and deliver strategic projects. Together this provides us with around £70m to invest in nature.

This investment will contribute to a range of Government priorities, and deliver across all our Outcomes. Through our role in administrating the Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) we expect to administer, in 2019/20, the distribution of around £12m of SRDP investment in agriculture and rural development, and around £5.5m ERDF funding, providing investment in green infrastructure and tourism.

Measuring and Reporting Progress

We have developed a series of key deliverables that represent the most significant areas of work to be delivered this year. We will use these to measure and report our progress.

We will measure progress at regular intervals throughout the year and report our progress to NatureScot’s Senior Leadership Team. This provides assurance that we are making progress towards delivery of the Business Plan.

We will report our progress to NatureScot’s Board, demonstrating that we are making progress towards achieving the four Outcomes of Connecting People and Nature. 

We’ll use our Annual Report to present a combination of case studies and survey data to show the progress we’re making towards the Outcomes in Connecting People and Nature, noting any evidence gaps where appropriate.