Scottish Biodiversity Strategy 2022

Overview

The Scottish Government are seeking views for their Biodiversity Strategy, which is due for publication in 2022.

The Strategy is the starting point in a process which will lead into the  development of rolling delivery plans and, through the introduction of a Natural Environment Bill, statutory nature restoration targets.

This consultation forms part of an engagement process with a wide range of stakeholders who have an interest in Scotland’s biodiversity, including land managers, environmental organisations, local authorities and other partners. We held a series of workshops to scope out the detail of the strategy, develop ideas and test concepts. We now want to hear the views of a wider range of organisations and individuals to test and further develop our ideas.

The rest of this document is set out as follows:

• The Evidence:  a short section setting out the evidence of biodiversity loss both globally and in Scotland
• Our Strategic Vision
• How Will We Know When We Have Succeeded:
  • high level milestones for the strategy
  • an outline of the outcomes approach we have developed to help us think about what we need to do to get to what we want to achieve
  • indicative outcomes for 2045 and 2030 milestones.
• Conditions for Success:  what do we need to put in place to ensure that we deliver the outcomes we want

Questions designed to get your views on our thinking are included after each section.

Read the consultation paper 

Why your views matter

Biodiversity is central to all of our lives and it is now very widely accepted that biodiversity is in crisis, both globally and in Scotland.

We all depend on biodiversity and so the biodiversity crisis affects everyone.  It provides the natural resources which provide our food, and enable our land and sea based businesses to operate.  It helps prevent flooding, soil erosion, purifies our water and contributes to our wellbeing, by providing recreation and a sense of place.  It is also crucial to removing greenhouse gas emissions from our atmosphere. 

We face twin reinforcing crises – a decline in biodiversity will make the climate crisis worse and a changing climate will increase the rate of biodiversity loss.  Biodiversity is the best chance we have to adapt to climate change and ensure we continue to be able to enjoy the things that nature provides, on which we all depend.   

The Scottish Government is consulting to get views on how we should tackle the biodiversity crisis.  We need to transform the way we use and manage our natural resources.  Your views will help shape our new Biodiversity Strategy which aims to help drive this transformation.     

The Scottish Government is keen to gather views from individuals, organisations and specific interest groups.