Solution to climate change can be found in the wild
Francesca Osowska explains why improving the state of Scotland’s nature is our best insurance against problems in the future
WE ALL try to do our bit for the environment, whether it’s reducing plastic use, recycling, or leaving the car at home.
Even letting parts of our gardens go wild to make space for nature.
But in the bigger picture, the climatechange solution must be found in the places many of us think of as the most special spots in Scotland – our stunning wild places.
In fact, with the rate of global change in nature during the past 50 years unprecedented in human history, our future depends on making sure Scotland improves and protects our beautiful natural places.
We need a nature-rich future for wildlife – but we need it as much for ourselves and our planet.
Improving the state of Scotland’s nature is our best insurance against climate change, and the push to do this work is increasingly in the spotlight. And it’s more timely than ever with so much going on in Scotland this year, putting our country right at the forefront of the climate-change debate.
There will be a key meeting in support of the global Convention on Biological Diversity held in Edinburgh and Glasgow will host the UN Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP26) in 2020.
We know climate and nature are closely interconnected. By enhancing and protecting nature, we moderate the worst impacts of a changing climate – and, conversely, through a more stable climate, we sustain a far healthier and more resilient environment.
Simply put, conserving and restoring our biodiversity is critical to solving the climate-change emergency.
There are plenty of cases to illustrate this relationship.
For example, healthy peatlands store almost 25 times as much carbon as any of the other types of vegetation in the UK.
Scotland’s iconic peatlands cover much of the country, including vast tracts of the northern and western highlands and islands, parts of the Central Belt, and large swathes of Galloway and the Borders.
But if they’re damaged, these same peatlands release carbon.
There is an urgent need to reverse damage to our peatlands and other natural areas – not only to combat climate change, but also to protect our biodiversity. And there are many exciting projects aiming to do just that across the country. The Green Infrastructure Fund is bringing more nature into our cities, generating investment of £37.5 million in urban greenspace, to increase the resilience of some of Scotland’s most deprived communities.
We’re also administering the Scottish Government’s Biodiversity Challenge Fund to target action on priority habitats and species. Under the fund, projects like Curlews in Crisis Scotland have been awarded more than £156,000 to help increase suitable breeding areas and reduce predation for Europe’s largest wader and one of our most distinctive birds.
As well, under the Pollinator Strategy for Scotland, around 50 new wildflower meadows, as well as the John Muir Pollinator Way, have been established, while roadside verges, brownfield sites and railway routes have been transformed, green roofs in Edinburgh planted, bee and bug houses created, and pollinatorfriendly trees and shrubs planted.
Another example is the Cairngorms Connect project, through which we and partners are working together to realise an ambitious vision to enhance habitats and help species over an area stretching over 600 square kilometres.
Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) is also working hard on our national nature reserves, removing invasive species, and developing ambitious plans, like planting 20,000 native trees on our Beinn Eighe reserve. There are difficult choices too – sometimes animals like deer and wild goats, without natural predators, are damaging our woodlands and protected natural areas. So we support landowners with advice and support for culling when necessary.
With the risks so high, here at SNH we are committed to accelerating our work, as well as to expand our support for communities to cope with and adapt to climate change.
We have a global duty to restore and protect our wildlife and the habitats they rely on.
We’re on our way, but it’s part of a long, committed journey to bring these special places back into healthy condition.
Nature-based solutions like peatland and other habitat restoration and creation have an important role to play in helping to prevent the climate emergency facing us all.
In Scotland, we take our responsibilities towards climate change very seriously and want to lead the way globally.
When I speak to people around the country, I hear the passion that so many of us have for this issue. So we are determined to respond robustly and effectively, together with everyone in Scotland, to ensure our natural world is part of the solution, not part of the problem.
We have a global duty to restore and protect our wildlife and the habitats they rely on