The Environment Strategy for Scotland

Ministerial Foreword

It is a privilege to be able to present Scotland’s first Environment Strategy. The Strategy will guide us as we take the joined-up action needed to tackle the nature, climate and pollution crises. It focuses on crucial opportunities to harness the powerful synergies between the health of our environment, the wellbeing of Scotland’s people and the success of our economy.

The need for urgent action could not be clearer. The scale and pace of global biodiversity loss is a disaster in its own right; there is also stark evidence of the risks it poses for our national security and prosperity in the coming decade and beyond. The devastating impacts of climate change are being felt around the world. Here in Scotland, more frequent floods, water shortages, heatwaves and wildfires are impacting on our communities and endangering lives and livelihoods. Pollution continues to harm our environment and our health, exacerbating inequalities.

This Environment Strategy charts our course for fulfilling Scotland’s role in the global effort to tackle these crises. By doing so, we can help to build a better Scotland for everyone and support our economy to thrive – now and into the future. Our action will generate opportunities to cut household bills and create new, well-paid jobs across the country, supporting our mission to eliminate poverty. Scotland leads the UK in creating green jobs, with the number advertised tripling since 2021, and 260,000 jobs are already supported by nature-reliant industries. Our action will reduce pressure on our health service, adding to the cost savings worth over £1 billion a year that nature already provides for Scotland’s NHS. It will create enormous new opportunities for our economy. For example, harnessing Scotland’s potential to grow globally competitive green industries, in sectors such as renewable energy, will support significant inward investment. Accelerating our transition to a circular economy will help businesses to save money and create new market opportunities, boosting efficiency and innovation. Restoring Scotland’s nature will safeguard the long-term productivity of many industries and enhance the green brand that underpins our exports and tourism. In parallel, supporting international efforts to safeguard nature will reduce our exposure to the profound risks posed by nature loss, including geopolitical instability and threats to our food security. In this way, Scotland’s contribution to tackling these global crises will help to secure the foundations of our prosperity and position us to thrive in the economy of the future. By helping to tackle stubborn inequalities in our country, it will also promote social justice and human rights.

Guiding this journey must be a renewed understanding that we are part of nature, not separate from it. The relationship with our natural world is deep-rooted in Scotland’s national heritage. The ancient Gaelic concept of Dùthchas captures the tightly woven connection between people, nature and the feeling of belonging to a place. It has been described as the unity between land, people, culture, nature and all living creatures, chiming with our modern understanding of ecological balance. It also reflects a sense of stewardship for the land. Looking ahead, it is vital that Scotland’s communities are empowered to lead our journey towards a sustainable future, guided by care for their local place. That is why community-led action is a central focus of this Strategy. It will help to ensure people and communities can guide our approach, drive local action and enjoy the rewards that come from it. It also sets out important steps for reconnecting with nature by ensuring we can experience the many benefits it offers for our daily lives – from the mental and physical health benefits from exercise and recreation in nature, to improvements in children’s wellbeing and educational attainment from outdoor, nature-based learning.

I am grateful to everyone who took the time to respond to the consultation on the draft Strategy. Delivering the Strategy’s vision will rely on a nationwide mission, working in partnership with people, communities and businesses. While Scotland’s response is one small part of the global effort needed, we can demonstrate to an international audience how protecting our planet can – and must – go hand in hand with our success as a nation. By adopting the concept of Dùthchas, we can embrace our role as stewards of the natural world that we are part of, and on which all of our futures depend. By helping to tackle these global crises, we can make meaningful improvements for the lives of communities here in Scotland – supporting people’s health and wellbeing, cutting the cost of living and building a fairer society. We can create the conditions in which our economy can flourish. And we can help to secure a safe and just future for Scotland, for people around the world and for generations to come.

Gillian Martin MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy