The nature and climate crises are two of the most serious issues of our time. We must tackle these problems head on in order to achieve a truly green and transformative recovery.
In this joint report the Trust, alongside WWF Scotland and RSPB Scotland, outlines 11 high-impact interventions to restore nature in Scotland. Delivering these actions would support a more resilient economy, help achieve our ambitious climate change targets, and provide wide-ranging benefits for society, contributing to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
These 11 actions can support nature’s recovery
- Deliver a significant expansion in Scotland’s native woodlands annually from 2020
- Introduce new legislation to achieve sustainable, low-impact fishing by the end of 2021
- Implement licensing of driven grouse shooting by end 2021
- Reduce deer populations and maintain them at sustainable levels through new or improved legislation by end 2021
- Ensure that all new development is net positive for nature through the National Planning Framework 4 in 2022
- Include a Scottish Nature Network in the National Planning Framework 4 in 2022, and deliver it by 2030
- End burning on peatland and the commercial extraction and sale of peat for horticulture across Scotland by 2023
- Introduce and apply new rules to improve the use of nitrogen by 2024
- Establish a Scottish Invasive Non-Native Species Inspectorate by 2025
- Transition Scottish agriculture to a new system of rural support, which facilitates and rewards delivery of public goods, by 2027
- Commit to at least 30% of Scotland’s seas being highly protected, with at least 10% fully protected by 2030
The actions we have laid out and recommended in our report are necessary to begin to tackle the nature crisis in Scotland. A number of the actions could also be prioritised by the Scottish Government over the next six months, as part of a green recovery. Looking beyond that, the actions should be considered as a package of policies for nature that must be delivered within the next 5-10 years.
We call on all political parties in Scotland to champion nature by including our 11 actions in their manifestos for the 2021 Scottish Parliament elections.
Read A Nature Recovery Plan: 11 transformative actions for nature in Scotland (pdf)
