The Scottish Biodiversity Strategy to 2045 – a crucial opportunity to deliver meaningful change for nature

Earlier this year, the Scottish Government was elected President of Regions4, a United Nations-accredited global network which seeks to reinforce the role of subnational governments in action to address the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. In taking up the Presidency, the Scottish Government reiterated its commitment to ambitious action and to global leadership on nature and climate. 

In a matter of weeks, this commitment will be put to the test. The United Nations Biodiversity Conference, also known as ‘COP16’, kicks off on 21 October, drawing together governments, communities and organisations from across the world to discuss the defining crises of our generation. 

The 2023 State of Nature in Scotland report – a shared evidence-base across government and beyond – defines the scale of Scotland’s biodiversity crisis. Following historic nature losses, Scotland sits close to the bottom of the international table of biodiversity intactness – this is a nature-depleted country; one in nine species face national extinction; and declines across species are ongoing. 

Soon the Scottish Government is expected to publish the highly anticipated Scottish Biodiversity Strategy to 2045. This Strategy will be key in determining whether this generation will reverse nature loss in our country or allow declines continue.  

Nature is central to the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, the stability of our economy, the fight against climate change, and to our national culture and identity: the future health and wellbeing of people across Scotland is at stake.  

To turn around centuries of degradation, the Strategy must specify and deliver real action, integrating biodiversity across government and working across sectors engaged with land and sea-use. It must drive recovery of our most valuable natural assets – not just a subset of iconic species, but the ecosystems, habitats, insects, fungi, wild plants, fish and birds that comprise the critical webs of life. The Strategy must strengthen and extend the partnerships that will make action a reality, with government and agencies working together with both NGO delivery partners and the communities that live and work on the land and seas. A shared vision, shared ambition and shared evidence base is key to success. 

In the latest Programme for Government, the First Minister announced that there will be a Natural Environment Bill in this parliament, introducing statutory nature recovery targets. This must be the key mechanism for mainstreaming biodiversity across government and ensuring that effort and resources are focused effectively and measurably on nature recovery.  

A pivotal moment for nature 

Scotland is poised to take an international leadership role. We have the huge opportunities of a new Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and its first Delivery Plan, supported by a new Natural Environment Bill and, in due course, statutory targets for nature’s recovery across Scotland. If these targets are too weak, too vague or too narrow, we won’t just stand still – we could go backwards. But, if targets are ambitious and supported by real action on the ground, the Scottish Government can help to secure a better outcome for all future generations. 

In its draft Scottish Biodiversity Strategy, the Scottish Government outlined its vision for Scotland to be nature positive by 2030 and to have restored and regenerated biodiversity across the country by 2045. To achieve this, the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy to 2045 and its delivery plans must: 

• Put in place comprehensive national programmes of ecosystem restoration and species recovery: biodiversity comprises ecosystems and species, and they must be at the heart of our strategy. 

• Through the Natural Environment Bill, set ambitious, measurable statutory nature recovery targets to drive delivery for nature against the Strategy, including Scotland’s contribution to the international 30-by-30 target agreed at UN COP15. These must be set in law before the end of the current Parliament – meaning a consultation draft of the Natural Environment Bill should be published by January 2025 at the latest.  

• Maintain and extend partnerships for delivery, allowing adaptability in roles and leadership across government and non-government sectors. 

• Maintain, extend and develop the shared evidence base. 

• Ensure nature-based solutions, such as peatland restoration, native woodland expansion and blue carbon habitat restoration are central to efforts to achieve Net Zero and adapt to climate change. 

• Provide clear actions for all relevant sectors on land and sea, and all parts of government, to recover nature and mainstream biodiversity across policies and programmes. 

None of the above will be possible if the Strategy and delivery plans 

• Rely heavily on actions which have already been committed to, such as through Peatland ACTION and Scotland’s rainforest strategy and do not add value.   

• Rely on the creation of more plans and strategies. Instead, there must be a focus on tangible delivery actions with a clear indication of how these actions are going to be funded. 

• Fail to work across sectors and delivery partners, integrating with land-use and sea-use policies, programmes and funding. 

It is time to step up to the challenge - decision makers across Scotland must grasp this opportunity to deliver meaningful change for nature. It is only in doing so that the Scottish Government can truly evidence its commitment to ambitious action and global leadership.