Scotland's Biodiversity Strategy 

In light of mounting evidence that Scotland continues to experience dramatic declines in biodiversity, the Scottish Government has set out an ambitious new strategy to halt biodiversity loss by 2030 and reverse it with large-scale restoration by 2045.  

The new strategy, published as a draft, aims to deliver the transformational changes needed to protect and restore terrestrial, freshwater and marine biodiversity in Scotland.

Over summer 2022 a preliminary three month consultation invited views on the new strategy - including its long-term ambition and vision of what our natural environment needs to look like in 2045. The many responses from organisations and individuals have informed the strategy published in draft during the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations’ Convention on Biological Diversity (CoP15).

Please take the opportunity to read the draft strategy and respond to the consultation on its delivery plan, due in spring 2023. 

Scotland's Biodiversity Strategy - What is it? 

The original strategy – Scotland’s Biodiversity: It’s in Your Hands – was published in 2004. In 2013, it was supplemented by the 2020 Challenge for Scotland’s Biodiversity. The two documents together constituted the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy. The 2020 Challenge for Scotland’s Biodiversity set out the major steps needed to improve the state of nature in Scotland. The work needed to deliver this is, however, complex and challenging.

In December 2020 the Scottish Government published the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy Post-2020: A Statement of Intent. This paved the way for the new, ambitious 25-year strategy which will supersede the 2020 Challenge strategy.