Top representatives from the SNP, Green and Liberal Democrats came together at the Scottish Parliament this week to support the introduction of legally binding nature recovery targets in Scotland’s Natural Environment Bill.
Scotland ranks in the lowest 15% of countries globally for the overall health of its biodiversity, and since the 1970s almost half of its species have decreased in number. One in nine species are at risk of extinction in Scotland today.
The establishment of legal targets for nature is a central ask of the Scotland Loves Nature campaign, alongside more funding to restore nature, and support for communities to protect and restore their local environments.
The charities behind the campaign hope that legally binding targets for nature recovery will help increase wildlife populations across Scotland on land and sea, end the threat of species going extinct from Scotland and increase the extent and quality of Scotland’s habitats – such as peatlands, native woodlands and seagrass meadows.