Scottish biodiversity strategy post-2020: a statement of intent

Sets the direction for a new biodiversity strategy which will respond to the increased urgency for action to tackle the twin challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change.

This high level Statement of Intent:

• signals our ambitions for Scotland, in tackling the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss;
• signals our action in the international arena and our desire to continue working with friends across Europe and the world;
• sets out how we will translate those ambitions into Scotland's post-2020 biodiversity strategy and delivery plan;
• confirms continuity, and enhancement where possible, of delivery under our existing biodiversity strategy until it is replaced; and
• signals some of our priorities, including announcing that:
  • We will endorse the Leaders' Pledge for Nature, which was launched at the United Nations General Assembly in September.
  • We will publish a new, high-level, policy-focused strategy within a year of CoP15 which will take account of the new global biodiversity framework, goals and targets and also the emerging EU biodiversity strategy.
  • The principles and associated projects in the 2020 Challenge and its route map will continue and be enhanced where appropriate, until they are replaced by a new Strategy and Delivery Plan.
  • We will work closely with stakeholders, and devise innovative solutions and partnerships which bring new voices to the debate, in developing our new strategy.
  • Our new strategy will highlight the need to facilitate the creation of new, locally driven projects – such as Cairngorms Connect – which aim to improve ecological connectivity across Scotland.
  • We will extend the area protected for nature in Scotland to at least 30% of our land area by 2030, and are commissioning advice on whether we could go even further than this given that we have already achieved 37% protection of Scotland's marine environment.
  • We will develop ambitious new proposals to secure positive effects for biodiversity through development, through our work on National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4).