RSK Biocensus Scottish office

Scotland has a wealth of wildlife and natural environments that support and enrich the lives of its people

If managed wisely, these natural resources will provide far-reaching opportunities to support a low-carbon, sustainable, innovative and more resource-efficient Scottish economy that maintains healthy, active and connected communities.

Lucy Cummings, a graduate ecologist in the RSK Biocensus Glasgow office, explains how a more ecosystem-related approach to biodiversity and sustainability in Scotland has been framed by the country’s distinct policy and legislation.

Here we outline the legislation and planning framework in Scotland, and the opportunities these present for our RSK Biocensus Scottish team, based in Glasgow, Stirling and Inverness.

Planning and policy

• The National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) is Scotland’s national spatial strategy. It guides spatial development and sets out planning policies and designated national developments. NPF4 supersedes NPF3 and Scottish Planning Policy (2014) and is a long-term plan looking to 2045.
• NPF4 policy 1 prioritises the climate and nature crises in all decisions. It sets out to encourage, promote and facilitate development that addresses the global climate emergency and nature crisis.
• The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 establishes a duty requiring the preparation of regional spatial strategies (RSS). The new duty to produce RSS will be enacted with the publication of statutory guidance in 2024.
• Development planning is required to manage the development and use of land in the long-term public interest. Local development plans (LDP) set out how places will change in the future. LDPs should encourage, promote and facilitate development that addresses the global climate emergency and nature crisis.
• The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 requires those preparing qualifying plans, including LDPs, to undertake an assessment of the likely significant effects of the plan, both positive and negative, on the environment. Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) can benefit the preparation of an LDP by supporting better understanding of its environmental context and helping to identify steps to avoid, mitigate or reduce adverse effects, and enhance positive effects, including for biodiversity.

Current status of Scottish biodiversity and how to improve this

The benefits and opportunities provided by our natural resources depend on ecosystems being healthy and resilient. Overall, biological diversity is declining, which can be seen with the loss of habitats and species, together with the significant decline of the extent of some habitats. This means that unless action is taken soon, the benefits that we derive from our natural resources are at risk.

According to State of Nature’s Scotland 2023 report, species on average have declined by 15% since 1994. While some species have seen increases, in the last decade, 43% have declined. Since 1994, swifts, curlews, lapwings and kestrels have all declined by more than half. The distribution of 47% of flowering plants has decreased since 1970 and one in nine Scottish species is threatened with extinction.

Declines in biodiversity may be driven by the intensive use of our land for agriculture, forestry, overgrazing and overfishing. These impacts are exacerbated by climate change, pollution, inappropriate development, invasive species and disease.

To build resilience into our ecosystems, we need to:

• proactively develop resilient ecological networks to maintain and enhance the wider resilience of Scotland’s ecosystems
• improve the condition of our ecosystems, reduce pollution levels, improve water quality, take action to support pollinators, better manage our soil and safeguard agricultural land
• reduce and better manage the pressures and demands on ecosystems and natural resources
• reduce waste
• reduce consumption of non-renewable sources of energy
• continue to improve biosecurity, including in respect to animal health, plant health and invasive non-native species.

Opportunities in Scotland

Healthy, resilient ecosystems are more able to address the increasing pressures and demands that we face as a society. Their resilience is essential if we are to continue to rely on our ecosystems for the vital range of benefits they provide.

This offers opportunities to investigate and develop ecosystem resilience and biodiversity improvements that can be offered alongside potential developments to encourage sustainable natural resource management. The Biodiversity Net Gain Metric 4 from the Scottish Government aims to deliver an overall improvement in biodiversity, including a mandatory 10% biodiversity net gain (BNG) that must be achieved for new developments.

The aim is that the planning system will encourage the use of high calibre ecological expertise (such as what RSK Biocensus can provide) and early discussions with planning teams to design developments on a case-by-case basis that positively impact ecosystem resilience.

The opportunities for green growth in Scotland have already seen the green economy expand considerably. Scotland’s natural resources provide an abundance of renewable energy resources, such as wind, hydro, solar power, hydrogen and biomass, which have contributed to significant growth in the sector in the last ten years. There is tremendous potential for further growth, both on land and at sea. There are significant opportunities for innovation across supply chains, particularly in relation to our primary production industries. Markets can be developed through new, innovative products that add value by replacing less sustainable products. There are also opportunities through diversification into emerging markets in areas such as carbon, water and biodiversity.