LINK Thinks

LINK Thinks is a space for members and others to express their views about Scotland’s environment. If you would like to contribute a blog please contact information@scotlink.org. The opinions expressed in this blog are the author's and not necessarily those of the wider LINK membership.

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Nature recovery – where to start

07 Dec 2023

By Professor James Curran, LINK Honorary Fellow This piece was originally published in The Scotsman. Scotland trades on its environment with images of misty mountains, soaring eagles, heather moors, wooded glens, and clear waters turned into golden whisky.  The Scottish Government even says that it “aspire(s) to be the greenest country in the world”. But […]

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Public squirrel sightings soar in 2023

05 Dec 2023

Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels has released the results of its fifth annual Great Scottish Squirrel Survey, revealing that 2023 public participation was the second highest since its inception, beating all previous years, bar the record-breaking pandemic lockdown year of 2020.  According to the survey, which was conducted between the 2nd and 8th of October and […]

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Devolution of environment policy in jeopardy

10 Nov 2023

By Kat Jones, Director, Action to Protect Rural Scotland (APRS) Environmental organisations in the UK recently wrote to the Prime Minister expressing concerns about how the Internal Market Act (IMA), passed in 2020 after Brexit, is negatively impacting environmental policymaking. The letter was coordinated by APRS in the aftermath of the IMA being used to […]

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Scotland’s Natural Environment Bill could be nature’s lifeline

05 Oct 2023

By Deborah Long, Chief Officer at Scottish Environment LINK Scotland is renowned across the world for its landscapes, seas and wildlife. Despite that reputation, we are 28th from the bottom of countries in terms of the health of our biodiversity, as measured by the Biodiversity Intactness Index. Scotland’s wildlife is not doing well.  If we […]

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The Value of Nature Champions: 10 Years On

12 Sep 2023

As Scottish Environment LINK’s Nature Champions initiative celebrates its tenth year, Nature Champions Coordinator, Andy Marks, highlights its value in galvanising political support for Scotland’s threatened and iconic species and habitats.   It is incredibly heartening to catch Members of the Scottish Parliament discussing which species and habitats they are championing as part of the […]

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Our natural world is in trouble: let’s see Scotland’s plan to fix it

04 Sep 2023

By Deborah Long, Chief Officer at Scottish Environment LINK. Originally published by the National.  HOW often do you think about nature? For many, the natural world is somewhere for relaxation or enjoyment – the place we go to disconnect, to get dirt underneath our fingertips, or to feel sun on our backs or cold water […]

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The chance to share your views on Scotland’s Circular Economy Bill

10 Aug 2023

The Scottish Government brought forward its long awaited Circular Economy Bill towards the end of June.  This bill was one of the pieces of legislation thwarted by COVID 19, so is somewhat overdue. The Bill is currently being considered by the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee, who are collecting evidence and views until September […]

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Vision for the future of Scotland’s aquaculture published

08 Aug 2023

Last month (July 2023) the Scottish Government released their Vision for Sustainable Aquaculture, setting out its plans for how the industry should develop all the way to 2045. Aquaculture in Scotland is big business, adding £885 million to the economy in 2018. It is dominated by salmon farming which produced 205,393 tonnes of farmed Atlantic […]

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An enforceable right to a healthy environment: Now is the time for Scotland to deliver

02 Aug 2023

By Benjamin Brown, Policy & Advocacy Officer at Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland From the sewage spilling into Scotland’s rivers and seas, to the toxic chemicals entering our food, our right to a healthy environment is being violated. We face a triple planetary emergency of climate breakdown, biodiversity loss, and the pollution of our air, […]

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