2010 is International Year of Biodiversity. So how successful has Scotland been at protecting our wildlife and natural resources, and what can you do to help?
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In 2002, the world’s governments committed themselves to making big cuts in the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010.
It’s now clear that those targets haven’t been met and the threats to biodiversity around the world are still growing. The launch of 2010 as International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) therefore brings a renewed focus on the need for more action. More than 160 countries now have national biodiversity action plans in place, including Scotland, which launched its Scottish Biodiversity Strategy back in 2004. So how have we fared in halting biodiversity loss? A recent report (
www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/biodiversityreport2010.pdf) suggests we’ve made good progress, although there are clearly still challenges to tackle. The report from SNH looks at the state of Scotland’s wildlife on land, coasts and seas against the 25-year Scottish Biodiversity Strategy. Among the key findings are:
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Otters are one of Scotland’s biodiversity success stories. Their range has expanded greatly in the last 30 years and they’re now found across most of the country.
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Environment minister Roseanna Cunningham launched the International Year of Biodiversity in Scotland at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh in January.
www.snh.gov.uk
– The bird populations of farmland, woodland, water and upland areas have mainly increased over recent years.
– There’s less pollution of our air, land and water. This has allowed wildlife to move back into parts of Scotland that had become run down through industrial use and neglect. Otters are re-established in the central lowlands and the variety of fish is being restored in the Forth and Clyde rivers and firths.
– We no longer see major losses of our more natural habitats, although the variety of plants dropped between 1998 and 2007. Woodland has taken on a more natural appearance, which has improved Scotland’s scenery and provided opportunities for wildlife to flourish.
– Good progress has been made in stopping the decline of very vulnerable habitats and species, and in safeguarding protected areas. However, some species and habitats are causing concern, such as commercial fish stocks at sea. The number of seabirds around Scotland has also been falling since 1991.
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