Scotland’s 2010 biodiversity report card released

A new report assessing Scotland’s progress towards halting biodiversity loss
was released today, showing cause for optimism but not complacency.

The wide-ranging report from Scottish Natural Heritage assesses the state of
Scotland’s wildlife on land, coasts and seas against the 25-year Scottish
Biodiversity Strategy launched in 2004. The strategy emphasises that a healthy,
natural environment is the essential foundation for a greener, healthier,
wealthier Scotland.

Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham said:

"While this report shows there are clearly still some challenges to address, we
can be proud of the progress achieved so far. Our experiences of nature can
inspire us, and even small actions to promote biodiversity can make a real
difference to achieve further progress in halting its decline.

"We as humans are very much part of Scotland's ecosystems and need to recognise
and celebrate this fact during the International Year of Biodiversity. By
getting out and interacting with our wonderful examples of nature, from our back
gardens to our National Parks, we will learn more about it and understand why it
needs our help."

Ian Jardine, chief executive of SNH, said:

"Thanks to the work of many people and organisations throughout Scotland, we
can see notable advances in many areas and for many species. For example, otters
are now found in 92% of Scotland, compared to just 57% in 1979.

“This report confirms that considerable progress has been made to protect
Scotland’s wildlife and natural resources - but we have more work to do.
Globally, biodiversity is being lost at an increasing rate and halting this loss
in Scotland will take a sustained effort over a longer period. 2010 is
International Year of Biodiversity and provides a great opportunity for everyone
to build on the accomplishments so far, and to work together to make sure that
Scotland remains at least as wonderfully diverse and beautiful as it is
today.”

The report pulls together data on the environment from a number of sources. Key
findings include:

● Farmland, woodland, water and upland bird populations have mainly increased
over recent years. Butterfly populations in Scotland are relatively stable.

● Environmental improvements have reduced air, land and water pollution,
allowing wildlife to re-colonise parts of Scotland that had become degraded by
industrialisation and dereliction. Otters are re-established in the central
lowlands and fish diversity is being restored in the Forth and Clyde rivers and
firths.

● We no longer see major losses of our more natural habitats, although
botanical diversity dropped between 1998 and 2007. Woodland has taken on a more
natural appearance, improving Scotland’s scenery and providing opportunities
for wildlife to flourish.

Good progress has been made in stopping declines among especially vulnerable
habitats and species, and in safeguarding protected areas, although much remains
to do. Trends in some species and habitats give greater cause for concern, such
as the continuing need to conserve commercial fish stocks at sea. Seabird
abundance in Scotland has been in decline since 1991.

Lessons learned from this assessment, which is being made available at the
start of the International Year of Biodiversity, will help to inform future
actions and monitoring. Scotland’s Biodiversity Strategy has been in place for
just six years. It recognises that there is no quick fix to halting biodiversity
loss by setting out a 25-year framework of action to restore Scotland’s
wildlife, so that Scotland becomes recognised as a world leader in biodiversity
conservation.

The 100-page report is available at
http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/biodiversityreport2010.pdf