Swinney warned he’s running out of time on eco law to save Scotland’s wildlife

Nature charities have warned John Swinney he is running out of time to introduce a key delayed eco law to save Scotland’s wildlife.

The Scottish Environment LINK coalition has written to SNP ministers urging them to deliver the Natural Environment Bill which had been promised last year.

The planned Bill would create ambitious legal targets to halt the loss of nature by 2030 and restore Scotland’s natural environment by 2045.

Campaigners said any further delay of the legislation would risk accelerating the decline of species – with a shocking one in nine at risk of extinction in Scotland.

Scotland is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, with iconic Scots creatures like red squirrels, wildcats, otters and grouse under threat of wipeout.

The Scottish Government had initially committed to deliver the Natural Environment Bill in the 2023/24 parliamentary year but failed to meet this deadline.

It comes as the European Parliament this week officially adopted a historic Nature Restoration Law across the continent.

Eco campaigners said Swinney’s government must now bring forward its own Bill to keep pace with Europe and fulfil its environmental ambitions.

Deborah Long, Chief Officer of Scottish Environment LINK, said: “Nature is hugely important to people across Scotland and, in the face of climate change, it is more urgent than ever that we act to protect and restore our natural environment.

“Setting legal targets to restore nature will be a key step in driving action and in setting a collective goal for us to aim for.

“Any further delay would leave little time to get this essential legislation through in this parliament – and would put our much-loved wildlife and nature-rich places at greater risk.”

The coalition of conservation charities had written to Scotland’s Net Zero Secretary Mairi McAllan earlier this week, prior to her going on maternity leave.

In their letter, they warned the SNP minister: “We have lost more of our natural biodiversity than the majority of other countries, and today average species abundance and distribution continue to decline, with one in nine species at risk of national extinction.

“We urge you to commit to introduce a Natural Environment Bill, including statutory targets to recover nature, in the upcoming Programme for Government.”

Under the previous SNP-Green coalition at Holyrood, then-Biodiversity Minister Lorna Slater had backed legal targets on restoring nature.

It follows a landmark official report last year which revealed the shocking extent of wildlife loss in Scotland.

The State of Nature study found nearly half of all species in Scotland had declined strongly since the 1990s, with birds and plant species especially badly hit.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Ministers are considering how the very recently passed EU Nature Restoration Law intersects with existing Scottish Government policies and our future biodiversity strategy.

“The First Minister will set out the Scottish Government’s future legislative programme, including any plans for a Natural Environment Bill, in due course.

“The Scottish Government remains firmly committed to protecting and effectively managing 30 per cent of Scotland’s land and seas for nature by 2030, halting the loss of biodiversity by 2030 and restoring and regenerating it by 2045, and we continue to pursue a wide range of actions to deliver this commitment.”

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