PRESS RELEASE : RSPB Charity calls on Scottish Government to deliver on nature ambitions [October 2022]

The press release issued by the RSPB on 21 October 2022.

A new report, A World Richer in Nature: where nature and people can thrive, was released today charting how each of the UK’s nations can be Nature Positive by 2030. The report highlights that there are huge opportunities to achieve this target across the UK but that it will take a vast amount of work and calls for a ‘Decade of Action’.

RSPB Scotland is calling on the Scottish Government to heed the recommendations and actions outlined for Scotland in this report and ramp up delivery on its ambitions for nature. The charity says the first step must be a redrafted Biodiversity Strategy that is ambitious with clear, specific outcomes and actions for ecosystems and species.

This call comes ahead of global leaders gathering at the COP15 biodiversity summit in Canada in December to agree new targets for addressing the nature emergency.

In response to announcements by the UK Government at the end of September, that have been labelled as an Attack on Nature, the Scottish Government reaffirmed its commitments to maintain environmental protections and restore nature in Scotland.

RSPB Scotland welcomed these reassurances and said it supports the Scottish Government in doing all it can to ensure the UK Government’s actions do not damage nature or undermine efforts to restore it in Scotland. However, the charity is calling on the Scottish Government to ensure its strong words are transformed into meaningful actions. It raised concerns about the recent consultation on the Biodiversity Strategy, which the nature charity says fell woefully short of having the actions needed to turn ambition for nature’s recovery into reality.

The World Richer in Nature report includes sections on species recovery, protected areas, food and farming, fisheries, climate change, finance and people. Each section includes a summary of the current situation, a vision for the future, what actions are needed to get there, along with case study examples of successes.

RSPB Scotland believes by implementing the recommendations in the report and taking inspiration from what is possible, the Scottish Government could create a future Scotland where nature and people thrive.

Anne McCall, Director of RSPB Scotland, said: “Nature is in crisis around the globe. We need COP15 to deliver a strong, ambitious deal for nature’s recovery. However, there’s plenty of things the Scottish Government can do right now to tackle the nature crisis at home. The stated ambition to do this has never been higher, but this needs to manifest in real action. The recent draft of the Biodiversity Strategy fell short of what’s needed at this critical moment. There are four big gaps: species recovery, ecosystem restoration, the role of protected areas, and clear, specific outcomes.

We also need an ambitious Seabird Strategy particularly as we face the aftermath of the catastrophic impacts bird flu had on seabirds this year, an ambitious plan for delivering the target to protect 30% of Scotland for nature by 2030, and there is a big opportunity to transform agricultural funding to help nature and our climate.”

“We believe Scotland should and can be nature positive by 2030. There are incredible opportunities over the lifetime of this parliament and particularly the next 12 months for the Scottish Government to put us on that path and we’ve outlined how that could work in our report through a Decade of Action. Let’s hope those opportunities are taken for all our sakes.”