Evaluation of the Compliance and Quality of Biodiversity Duty Reports 2015

1) Healthy ecosystems: Scotland's ecosystems are restored to good ecological health so that they provide robust ecosystem services and build our natural capital

(1) Encourage and support ecosystem restoration and management, especially in catchments that have experienced the greatest degradation

Some

(2) Use assessments of ecosystem health at a catchment level to determine what needs to be done

Some

(3) Government and public bodies, including SNH, SEPA and FCS, will work together towards a shared agenda for action to restore ecosystem health at a catchment-scale across Scotland

Majority/All

(4) Establish plans and decisions about land use based on an understanding of ecosystems. Take full account of land use impacts on the ecosystems services that underpin social, economic and environmental health

Majority/All

2) Natural capital - Natural resources contribute to stronger sustainable economic growth in Scotland, and we increase our natural capital to pass on to the next generation

(1) Encourage wide acceptance and use of the Natural Capital Asset Index (2012) including a comparable measure for the marine environment

Minority

(2) Use this index to influence decision-making and market-based approaches, so that the wider monetary and non-monetary values for ecosystem services are recognised and accounted for

Minority

(3) Undertake a major programme of peatland conservation, management and restoration

Minority

3) Biodiversity, health and quality of life - Improved health and quality of life for the people of Scotland, through investment in the care of green space, nature and landscapes

(1) Provide opportunities for everyone to experience and enjoy nature regularly, with a particular focus on disadvantaged groups

Majority/All

(2) Support local authorities and communities to improve local environments and enhance biodiversity using green space and green networks, allowing nature to flourish and so enhancing the quality of life for people who live there

Majority/All

(3) Build on good practice being developed by the National Health Service ( NHS) and others to help encourage greenspace, green exercise and social prescribing initiatives that will improve health and wellbeing through connecting people with nature

Majority/All

(4) Increase access to nature within and close to schools, and support teachers in developing the role of outdoor learning across the Curriculum for Excellence

Some

(5) Encourage public organisations and businesses to review their responsibilities and action for biodiversity, and recognise that increasing their positive contribution to nature and landscapes can help meet their corporate priorities and performance

Majority/All

4) Wildlife, habitats and protected places - The special value and international importance of Scotland's nature and geodiversity is assured, wildlife is faring well, and we have a highly effective network of protected places

(1) Ensure that the management of protected places for nature also provides wider public benefits

Some

(2) Align habitat restoration on protected areas with national goals for improving ecosystem health, with local priorities determined at the catchment or landscape scales

Minority

(3) Integrate protected areas policy with action for wider habitats to combat fragmentation and restore key habitats

Some

(4) Develop a wildlife management framework to address the key priorities for sustainable species management, conservation and conflict issues, including reintroductions and invasive non-native species

Minority

(5) Involve many more people than at present in this work and improve our understanding of the poorly known elements of nature

Majority/All

5) Land and freshwater management - Nature is faring well, and ecosystems are resilient as a result of sustainable land and water management

(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

Some

(2) Ensure that measures taken forward under the Common Agricultural Policy encourage land managers to develop and retain the diversity of wildlife habitats and landscape features

Some

(3) Support 'High Nature Value' farming and forestry

Some

(4) Put in place the management necessary to bring Scotland's protected areas into favourable condition and improve the ecological status of water bodies

Majority/All

(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

Some

(6) Restore and extend natural habitats as a means of building reserves of carbon and to help mitigate climate change

Some

(7) Provide clear advice to land and water managers on best practice

Some

6) Marine and coastal - Scotland's marine and coastal environments are clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse, meeting the long-term needs of people and nature

(1) Adopt a Scottish Marine Plan and develop regional marine plans to aid balanced decision-making in the marine environment.

Minority

(2) Establish a coherent network of Marine Protected Areas, promoting sustainable use and conservation

Minority

(3) Collate information on the location and sensitivity of priority marine features, and make this information available to support their protection

Minority

(4) Achieve good environmental status for Scottish seas

Some

(5) Bring Common Fisheries Policy fish stocks to levels consistent with Maximum Sustainable Yield wherever possible, and take account of biodiversity in managing inshore fisheries

Minority

(6) Implement a rapid-response framework to prevent colonisation of new invasive species in Scotland's seas and islands

Minority

(7) Improve the monitoring of the marine environment to identify changes and guide progress towards the above outcomes

Minority

(8) Improve understanding of how coastal ecosystems are likely to adapt to climate change and develop appropriate strategies for coastal zone management

Minority

Key:
Minority = A small number of public bodies could directly contribute to this step
Some = A moderate proportion of public bodies could contribute to this step
Majority/All = Almost all public bodies (with exceptions) could contribute to this step in some way