Scottish biodiversity strategy: report to Parliament 2020 to 2024

5. Outcome 5: Land and freshwater

Nature is faring well, and ecosystems are resilient as a result of sustainable land and water management.

5.1 Promote an ecosystem approach to land management that fosters sustainable use of natural resources and puts biodiversity at the heart of land-use planning and decision-making.

Efforts to foster the sustainable use of natural resources and put biodiversity at the heart of land-use planning and decision-making include the Regional Land Use Pilots discussed above under s1.1. Addressing the nature crisis and global climate emergency underpin National Planning Framework (NPF) 4 (see also s3.2). The intent of NPF Policy 3 Biodiversity is to protect biodiversity, reverse biodiversity loss, deliver positive effects from development and strengthen nature networks. NPF Policy 3 puts biodiversity at the heart of the planning system.

Additional NPF4 policies support positive effects for biodiversity, for example Policy 1 gives significant weight to the nature crisis to ensure that it is recognised as a priority in all plans and decisions, and Policy 4 protects and enhances natural heritage and requires Local Development Plans to identify and protect locally important assets such as Local Nature Conservation Sites. This is supported by Policy 5 on soils and Policy 6 on forests, woodland and trees. Policy 20 promotes the expansion and connectivity of blue and green infrastructure and Policy 10 recognises the sensitivities of coastal areas. Protection of natural features on brownfield land is highlighted in Policy 9, while protection of the green belt in Policy 8 will ensure that biodiversity in these locations is conserved and accessible to communities, bringing nature into the design and layout of our cities, towns, streets, and spaces.

After initial research considering how best to measure biodiversity at a site level, Scottish Government has commissioned NatureScot to work on a biodiversity metric for planning in Scotland. That work is currently in its early stages and analysing responses from a consultation exercise.

5.2 Ensure that measures taken forward under CAP (now the new Scottish rural support framework) encourage land managers to develop and retain the diversity of wildlife habitats and landscape features.

The Vision for Agriculture

The Vision for Agriculture and Agri Reform Route Map sets out a just transition approach for a move to regenerative and sustainable agriculture in Scotland by developing a framework for supporting high quality food production; climate mitigation and adaptation; nature restoration; and wider rural development. These will include measures addressing the four ‘R’s towards Nature Restoration - Refrain, Reduce, Restore, Renew and so help address the drivers for biodiversity loss on farmland.

Farming with Nature

NatureScot’s Farming with Nature Programme includes a suite of projects to test natural capital approaches at field, landholding and landscape scales to inform future rural policy and land management support schemes, and to support land managers to consider the biodiversity present on their holdings and how this may be protected and enhanced. NatureScot is working with farmers and crofters to develop the Biodiversity Audit and Farm Biodiversity Scotland app and web portal as an easy-to-use tool to help farmers and crofters prepare a farm habitat map and assessment to meet the requirements of the Whole Farm Plan to be introduced by the Scottish Government from 2025 as part of the overall Agricultural Reform Programme (ARP). The ARP aims to transform how we support farming and food production in Scotland to become a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture.

5.3 Support ‘High Nature Value’ farming and forestry.

High Nature Value (HNV) Farming refers to farming systems important for the biodiversity benefits they provide, including habitats and species of high nature conservation importance. In Scotland, the main farming systems identified as of high nature value are those which rely on extensive grazing in semi-natural areas.

The Agri-environment Climate Scheme (AECS) continues to support HNV farming systems, with over £253m committed between 2015 and 2023 for contracts of up to five years. The scheme covers around 20% of Scotland’s agricultural land supporting the management of upland habitats, arable land, and other inbye land including management of hedges, species-rich grassland, wetland, lowland bog, corncrakes, and waders.

5.4 Put in place the management necessary to bring Scotland’s Protected Areas into favourable condition and improve the ecological status of water bodies.

The Agri-environment Climate Scheme (AECS) and tailored NatureScot Management Agreements continue to play an important role in bringing about and supporting effective management for Protected Areas. As of 2024, just over 75% of notified features were in favourable or improving condition. Since AECS opened in 2015 approximately £66 million has been committed to designated sites as 5-year contracts (approximately 26% of the Agri-environment budget).

Landscape or larger-scale pressures, such as overgrazing, invasive species and impacts of climate change are key causes of unfavourable condition for notified features. The redevelopment of monitoring programmes to focus on understanding and addressing pressures at different scales should help to drive action to make these sites healthy and resilient.

River Basin Management Planning is the framework within which we are driving improved ecological status for freshwater habitats. SEPA’s most recent condition assessment for rivers and lochs in 2018 shows that there is variation in the condition of freshwaters across Scotland. For Scotland as a whole, 65.7% of our surface and groundwater water bodies are at good or better status (as defined in the Water Framework Directive). This is a slight increase from 2017 (64.9%) while 57.1% of water bodies (rivers, canals and lochs) meet the required EU standard of being of ‘Good’ or ‘High’ status. In some regions, such as the Western and Northern Isles, Argyll and North Highland water bodies are in much better condition than the national average.

5.5 Ensure that biodiversity and ecosystem objectives are fully integrated into flood risk management plans and restore wetland habitats and woodlands to provide sustainable flood management.

Stakeholder engagement in the development of the Flood Resilience Strategy undertaken by SNIFFER, ClimateXChange and Scottish Flood Forum clearly identified the need for sympathetic water movement across catchments through inter alia river restoration, appropriately sited woodlands, functioning wetlands and healthy soils. A series of CREW Science Policy Fellowships that considered Community Engagement; Fluvial Flooding Management Recommendations; and Public Health Resilience will all help improve the policy framework. Delivery on the ground has been facilitated by the Nature Restoration Fund ‘natural flood management’ priority, with catchments upstream of Potentially Vulnerable Areas for flooding (identified by SEPA) being favourably considered. Natural flood management techniques are illustrated in this short film describing work done on the River Peffery near Dingwall. The current round of National Flood Risk Assessments takes better cognisance of land use planning, Nature-based Solutions and catchment management.

5.6 Restore and extend natural habitats as a means of building reserves of carbon and to help mitigate climate change.

Work with land managers, including on Protected Areas, is helping to identify actions to ensure that features are brought into favourable condition, that their resilience is increased through regenerative land management practices, and that sequestration of carbon is maximised in line with our increased understanding of the role that different natural habitats play in the carbon cycle. Reform of our approach to the monitoring of Protected Areas will further help direct appropriate management measures and inform and identify appropriate delivery mechanisms to achieve the 30 by 30 target and restore habitats.

5.7 Provide clear advice to land and water managers on best practice

Advice is available to rural land managers through the Farm Advisory Service, Scottish Rural Network and through the information and guidance available from, for example, the Scottish Government, NatureScot, Scottish Forestry, SEPA and SEWeb, and also through communications and events such as The Royal Highland Show.

5.8 Monitoring this Outcome