Fight For Scotland's Nature

Dave Windle

We have been circulating the members with action emails about this from LINK. Why is this important? Well, the answer depends on how trustworthy you think our politicians are. Personally, I don’t think that we can trust them an inch. We need legally binding targets to force them to take the right decisions and not simply abandon the environment whenever an economic development is proposed.

Summarising the material at Fight for Scotland's Nature, we need targets because

• A healthy, thriving natural environment is essential to our future, but nature is declining at an unprecedented rate.
• 49% of Scotland’s species have decreased since 1970 and one in nine is at risk of extinction.
• We know that the climate and nature emergencies are linked and that we can’t tackle one without the other.

We need to stop the loss of nature by 2030 and secure recovery by 2045. This can only be done by setting legally binding targets no later than next year. These targets must

• Increase wildlife populations and spread on both land and sea
• End the threat of species going extinct
• Increase the extent and quality of Scotland’s habitats

Scotland’s climate targets have been effective in mobilising action across society and the economy because they are legally binding and include comprehensive planning and review mechanisms. We want to see similar targets and mechanisms introduced to halt the loss of nature by 2030 and secure its recovery by 2045.

For more detailed information, see Putting Scotland on a Path to Recovery: the case for nature recovery targets - Scotlink

View from the Flows Lookout Tower, RSPB Forsinard, Sutherland ©Claire Pegrum CC BY-SA 2.0

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