Fight for Scotland’s Nature
37 environmental charities from across Scotland have come together to ‘Fight for Scotland’s Nature’ and gather support for a Scottish Environment Act.
EU protections have played an overwhelmingly positive role in protecting and enhancing our natural environment by setting clear objectives for legislation, providing funding mechanisms and a variety of routes to ensure implementation.
Brexit threatens to unravel this set of critical environmental protections at a time when 1 in 9 species in Scotland is at risk of extinction.
We cannot afford to be left behind EU and global partners. This is why we need a Scottish Environment Act to set clear ambitions for our own environmental policy and set us in a clear trajectory towards a more sustainable future. This is all the more important as we enter 2020, a year critical for the culmination of global efforts to halt biodiversity loss.
‘Scotland’s natural environment is a vital part of our national identity’
In February 2020 we filmed Joyce McMillan, former president of Scottish Environment LINK, talking about the importance of protecting Scotland’s natural environment.
For a thriving environment
Scotland’s environment matters not just for its natural and cultural wealth, but also for the communities reliant on it.
We rely on our environment for clean air and water, fertile soil and resources; jobs depend on it: 14% of jobs in Scotland are supported by the natural environment.
The reality is, however, that from deforestation and pollution to historic and ongoing land management practices, environmental degradation is impacting local wildlife and communities.
To ensure that our environment is healthy and thriving so that it can continue providing for our wellbeing, we need strong legislation that will lock in existing EU environmental protections and ensure Scotland doesn’t fall behind EU and global partners.
Help us fight for a thriving environment by supporting our campaign.
For thriving landscapes
Scotland is renowned for its stunning landscapes, from Caledonian pine forests and coastal grasslands to freshwater habitats and wetlands. Dramatic land-use change coupled with historic and ongoing land management practices, including grazing, burning, drainage and predator control, are impacting wildlife and habitats.
Our native woodlands – home to many of Scotland’s threatened species and exceptionally rich in fungi, lichen and mosses – have been severely reduced by heavy deforestation and are threatened by over-grazing and invasive non-native species such as rhododendron. Only 1% of Scotland is covered in ancient native woodland.
Our farmland – which can provide important habitats for wildlife – is increasingly under pressure.
Our lochs and rivers – which support a rich array of flora and globally important populations of Atlantic salmon and freshwater pearl mussels – are being affected by water quality, commercial fisheries, and illegal collection.
Our uplands – which support threatened lichen and iconic wildlife such as Scottish wildcats – are threatened by atmospheric pollution, overgrazing and the impacts of climate change.
Help us fight for thriving landscapes by supporting our campaign.
For thriving seas
Scottish waters make up 61% of the UK total and are home to internationally important populations of dolphins, whales, basking sharks, grey seals and seabirds. They are a global hotspot for diverse seabed habitats such as coldwater coral reefs and inshore flameshell beds.
Climate change and human activities are impacting marine ecosystems, with even small changes in sea temperatures having drastic impacts on food webs and seabird populations.
The marine environment also faces major challenges from pollution, invasive non-native species, and the direct and indirect impacts of fishing.