Scotland’s nature plan falling short with over one in three actions behind schedule - Scottish Environment LINK

Environmental charities have warned that Scotland’s flagship plan to restore nature is not yet delivering the change needed on the ground, as a new public tracker reveals that more than one in three actions set out in the plan are either delayed or have not been started.

The Scottish Biodiversity Strategy Delivery Plan (2024–2030), published by the Scottish Government, sets out how Scotland aims to halt nature loss by the end of the decade, including restoring peatlands, improving the health of our rivers, protecting our seas and supporting wildlife conservation. But a new Scottish Biodiversity Strategy Tracker, launched today (Monday 25 May) by Scottish Environment LINK, shows a growing gap between promises and progress.

The tracker analyses all 136 actions in the plan and finds that around one in seven (18 actions) are complete, about half (69) are in progress, and more than a third are behind schedule (16 delayed and 33 not started).

Alongside delivery status, the tracker introduces a new nature recovery score, assessing how much specific actions could contribute to nature recovery. The results show that while activity is underway, it is not yet translating into meaningful large-scale recovery.