Soils
We aim to promote the sustainable management and protection of soils, consistent with the economic, social and environmental needs of Scotland.
Soils are a valuable but vulnerable natural asset, requiring sustainable and effective management. They contribute to both economic and environmental functions in many industries, including farming, forestry and tourism.
We contribute towards the maintenance, management and protection of Scotland’s soils through our planning, biodiversity, agriculture, and water environment policies.
To help soils to adapt to pressures under a changing climate, we published a Scottish Soil Framework in 2009 to raise awareness about the services provided, and pressures faced, by soils.
Find more information on the Scotland’s soils website.
Peatlands
Peatlands cover around a quarter of Scotland — about 2 million hectares. They matter both nationally and globally. Around two-thirds of all UK peatlands are in Scotland, and our blanket bogs make up roughly a tenth of the world's total.
Sadly, about 70% of Scotland's peatlands are in poor condition. Healthy peatlands store carbon, but damaged ones release it instead, which is bad for our climate. Damaged peatlands also provide fewer benefits for nature and people. The main causes of damage include drainage, extraction, overgrazing, burning, tree planting, development, and acid deposition.
Our Climate Change Plan sets out how we will protect, manage and restore Scotland's peatlands. We aim to restore 400,000 hectares of damaged peatland by 2040. To help us get there, we published our first Peatland ACTION Five-Year Partnership Plan in December 2025. This sets out the steps we will take over the next five years to reach our 2040 goals. As well as restoring peatlands, the Climate Change Plan also includes measures to protect and manage them.
These include:
- banning the sale of horticultural peat
- integrating peatlands across other policies spanning agriculture, biodiversity, deer, flooding management, energy, land use and planning
Peatland restoration is delivered by Peatland ACTION. This is a partnership of five public sector delivery partners:
- NatureScotForestry and Land Scotland
- the Cairngorms National Park Authority
- the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority
- Scottish Water
Through our Peatland ACTION Delivery Partners, we also fund environmental non-governmental organisations such as the RSPB, Carbon Crichton Centre and others to carry out peatland restoration and research.
Protecting, managing and restoring peatlands does more than just cut greenhouse gas emissions. It can also help wildlife thrive, reduce flooding, make wildfires less severe, and improve water quality.
In the right situations, restored peatlands can work alongside other land uses, such as sheep grazing, managing drinking water supplies, and reaching Net Zero targets.
This makes peatland restoration a vital tool in tackling the climate and nature crisis. It also supports good green jobs in rural communities across Scotland, helping us move towards Net Zero in a fair way for everyone.