Getting better
“Thanks to the work of many people and organisations throughout Scotland, we can see changes for the better in many areas and for many species,” commented Ian Jardine, chief executive of SNH. “For example, otters are now found in 92% of Scotland, compared with just 57% in 1979. “This report confirms that we’ve made major progress in protecting Scotland’s wildlife and natural resources – but we have more work to do. Around the world, biodiversity is being lost at an increasing rate and halting this loss in Scotland will need constant effort over a longer period. “International Year of Biodiversity provides a great opportunity for everyone to build on what we’ve achieved so far, and to work together to make sure that Scotland remains at least as diverse and beautiful as it is today.”
You can help
Everyone in Scotland can play some part in helping to support biodiversity in 2010. Over the next few pages we highlight some of the small steps you could take that would go towards making a big difference.
What is biodiversity?
Put simply, biodiversity is the variety of life around us. It’s the whole range of living things on Earth – plants, animals and micro- organisms, as well as the places where they live.
Humans are an integral part of biodiversity too, and have the power to protect or destroy it.
Biodiversity is important because without it we wouldn’t be able to survive. It provides:
> Life support systems – such as clean air, clean water, food
> Raw materials – fossil fuels, wood
Scottish Biodiversity Week
One of the key ways that Scotland will be marking the International Year of Biodiversity is by encouraging people to take part in Scottish Biodiversity Week, which will run from 15 to 23 May. This is now a national fixture in the Scottish calendar. It aims to get people involved with nature in fun ways and encourage more people to get out and about, enjoying nature on a regular basis.
If you’d like to organise an event, you can promote it through the online event diary (
www.snh.org.uk/ biodiversityweek). You can also order promotional items, such as postcards and wildflower seed packs, to hand out at the events. The postcards promote the Scottish Biodiversity Week photography competition, which last year attracted some great entries, including the dramatic image, above, of waxwings.
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> Future benefits – medicines, advances in technology
> Quality of life – enjoyment, beauty, interest
> Culture and heritage – such as the thistle, oak woods, peat bogs
The Nature of Scotland
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