£4.2m lifeline for Scotland's most vulnerable species

£4.2m lifeline for Scotland's most vulnerable species - Butterfly Conservation

Threatened species in Scotland have today received a £4.2m lifeline from The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF).

The funding will support urgent action to help save 37 of Scotland's most vulnerable coastal and island species, including the great yellow bumble bee, Scottish primrose and little tern.

NatureScot received the £4,232,000 award for its ground-breaking Species on the Edge partnership project with Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, The Bat Conservation Trust, Buglife, The Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Butterfly Conservation, Plantlife Scotland and RSPB Scotland.

The four-and-a-half year programme will support seven project areas, from the Solway to Shetland and from the East coast to the Outer Hebrides, benefitting species including vital pollinators like the great yellow bumble bee, rare amphibians such as the natterjack toad, wading birds including terns, lapwings and curlews and the 'jewel of the north', the Scottish primrose.

Working with some of Scotland's most geographically remote and diverse communities, the partnership will draw on their expert scientific knowledge and local networks and unparalleled experience to create opportunities for people and communities. This will provide a vital lifeline for some of our most nationally vulnerable and internationally important coast and island flora and fauna.

The State of Nature Scotland Report 2019 showed that, from 1994 to 2016, 49% of Scottish species have decreased. Of the 6,413 species found in Scotland that have been assessed, 11% have been classified as threatened with extinction. Species on the Edge will work as part of action urgently required to halt further losses.

Of the 37 species targeted by the project, 19 are threatened by land use change, eight from climate change and the remainder through a combination of influences such as pollution, invasive non-native species and exploitation.