Scotland's Biodiversity Strategy 

 

 

 

Biodiversity is all life on Earth and it’s essential for our survival. The air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat all rely on biodiversity, but it is in crisis. This crisis is caused by us, including pollution, climate change, the destruction of natural habitats, and unsustainable farming and fishing practices.

The Scottish Biodiversity Strategy is Scotland’s response to the nature crisis. It is the most comprehensive strategy for nature yet, setting out our ambition to halt nature loss by 2030 and make substantial progress to restore nature by 2045. This will be supported by a series of 6-year rolling Delivery Plans which includes a comprehensive set of cross sectoral actions and a proposed Natural Environment Bill which will include the introduction of statutory nature recovery targets.

This is the most comprehensive strategy and set of actions for nature that we’ve ever seen in Scotland and through working in partnership and combining our collective knowledge, skills and experience, we will respond to the nature and climate crisis in an effective and fair way.

Scotland's Biodiversity strategy vision infographic

Infographic description at foot of page 

Scotland's Biodiversity Delivery Plan 2024–2030
Scottish Biodiversity Strategy to 2045

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.

View these document here;

winding river surrounded by woodland

Nature Heroes
View north west across the peatland lochs and machair of South Uist and Benbecula.

Key pressures on biodiversity
Blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) perching on a lichen covered branch.

SBS & COP 15
View over a river with snowy mountains in the distance and farmland in the foreground.

An ecosystem approach
Family sitting beside the pond

Scottish Biodiversity Programme
Wildflowers in meadow

30 by 30 and Nature Networks

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Uath Lochans, Glenfeshie, East Highland Area

Scotland’s strategy to tackle the nature emergency

The Scottish Government’s draft biodiversity strategy sets out a long-term ambition and vision for what good looks like for biodiversity in Scotland in 2045.  It is designed to deliver landscape-scale, transformative change - backed by evidence, supported by a delivery plan and a new investment plan - and underpinned by statutory targets which will hold future governments to account.
The full description for accessibility is linked below this image.

Scottish Government Nature Restoration Fund 

The Scottish Government's Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) is supporting projects which are delivering exciting on the ground activity to protect and restore Scotland's biodiversity.

Infographic description

The 'Proposed vision' infographic shows a timeline from 1970 to 2045 depicting biodiversity (examples of flora and fauna) declining and then regenerating by 2045. Its starts with images of how land and sea was used in the 1970s, such as farming, a factory and a fishing trawler. As the timeline progresses its shows a decline in biodiversity and then portrays the decline ending by around 2030. From 2030 to 2045, the image shows how land and sea might be used as biodiversity is substantially restored.