Three quarters of Scots back legal targets to restore nature
Leading environmental groups have today launched a new campaign calling on the Scottish government to bring forward legislation to protect nature.
The campaign, Scotland Loves Nature, is backed by 43 organisations, including RSPB Scotland, the Scottish Wildlife Trust, and WWF Scotland.
The coalition are demanding the Scottish government introduce a Natural Environment Bill to bring in legal targets to restore nature. These targets would commit the Scottish government to preventing the extinction of wildlife and halting the decline of nature by 2030, and to make significant progress in restoring Scotland’s natural environment by 2045.
The health of Scotland’s natural environment has been in long-term decline, and today 1 in 9 species are threatened with extinction.
Ministers had previously committed to the proposed Bill, which has since been delayed. The campaign groups are calling on John Swinney to include the Natural Environment Bill in his upcoming Programme for Government, expected this September.
The campaign launch comes as a new opinion poll shows three quarters of Scots back legal nature targets.
The poll, conducted by Diffley Partnership, found that 74% of people in Scotland support legal targets to improve the natural environment, with only 11% opposed.
Deborah Long, chief officer of Scottish Environment LINK, commented:
“People in Scotland truly love nature, and they expect our government to take care of it.
“Nature makes an enormous difference to our wellbeing and quality of life, and a healthy natural environment is our first line of defence against climate change.
“Sadly our environment faces enormous challenges, and we risk losing some of our iconic species altogether. But we also know that nature can recover.
“The overwhelming majority of Scots back our call for legal targets for nature recovery.
“We are calling on the Scottish government to bring forward a Natural Environment Bill and get nature back on track.”