Draft Biodiversity Strategy needs funded action

The Scottish Government’s recently published Biodiversity Strategy is a vital step in the fight for nature – but it needs turning into action fast.

The Scottish Government has published its draft Biodiversity Strategy to 2045. The strategy sets out a framework for the Government’s emergency response to the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.

The John Muir Trust has welcomed the launch of the strategy, particularly its focus on deer management as a nature restoration measure. But we have pressed for fully costed and funded action plans to be shared quickly.

In a statement, the Trust’s Director of Policy Mike Daniels said: “We welcome the launch of the strategy. This is a vital first step in the fight back for nature. We particularly welcome the Scottish Government grasping the nettle of deer management and the commitment to ‘continue to drive down and deliver substantially reduced deer densities across our landscapes'. We look forward to costed and funded delivery plans as soon as possible to stem the tide of decline. We don't have the luxury of time.”

In a foreword, Scotland’s Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity, Lorna Slater, said the strategy articulated a vision for a future where Scotland’s natural environment is restored and supporting thriving communities and wildlife alike.

“Tackling the nature emergency is a long-term endeavour,” she writes, “and it will not be achieved within the lifetime of any government or Parliamentary term. We are therefore putting in place a range of vital measures to ensure that this Strategy will continue to be relevant, and direct the delivery of the lasting outcomes for biodiversity that we need to see in Scotland, whatever the political complexion of future governments.”

The Trust has also welcomed the recognised need to focus on ecosystem health and land and seascape-scale regeneration - rather than on management for individual species – as well as the recognised relationship between sustainable grazing by livestock and ecosystem health.

“We look forward to seeing how the detail in this plan can become enforceable through the Natural Environment Bill, and working with the Government to demonstrate how the restoration and recovery of wild places supports this strategy” said Mike Daniels.