The Natural Environment Bill

In September 2024, the Scottish Government outlined their legislative plans for the 2024-2025 parliamentary year, including the introduction of a Natural Environment Bill. The Bill will build on the responses to the Scottish Government's "Tackling the Nature Emergency" consultation which took place in late 2023. From the detail which is currently known, it is expected to establish a statutory framework for targets to restore and protect biodiversity, alongside ancillary provisions to manage and promote national parks.

Whilst the draft Bill has not yet been published, the central focus is expected to be the recovery and regeneration of biodiversity by 2030 and 2045 respectively. In order to achieve these goals, the Bill will set out binding statutory targets to improve biodiversity in Scotland. The Bill is expected to contain a framework for establishing said statutory targets, with the potential for further detail to be contained in secondary legislation. It is anticipated that the framework will replicate the binding climate change targets in relation to Scotland's net zero target, which require the Government to monitor and report on their progress.

The consultation proposed that statutory targets will be informed by existing biodiversity frameworks in Scotland and further afield. The consultation also proposed that the detail of these targets, such as quantifiable figures, will then follow in secondary legislation. Potential statutory targets could involve the regulation of the condition of protected areas and habitats, pesticide and hazardous substances pollution, ecosystem integrity and investment in biodiversity but further detail is awaited.

Government compliance with statutory targets will require ground-level changes to the way land is owned and managed. It is therefore anticipated that once the Natural Environment Bill is published it will include provisions for the regulation of both farmland and woodland. The consultation proposed a number of areas in which these regulations could be made, including provisions in relation to habitat quality, species abundance and the control of pesticides and hazardous substances. Although the precise detail remains to be seen, it is likely that the Bill and any resulting framework will require working practices for landowners and land managers to be adapted to ensure compliance.

In keeping with its aim to improve biodiversity, the Bill will also include provision for the introduction of a new Scottish National Park by 2026, including changes in composition to new and existing National Park authority boards to modernise their management, which has now been progressed by proposals to introduce a new national park in Galloway.

Although we await further information once the Bill is in draft form, Brodies will continue to monitor the progress of any further consultations and the status of the Bill once available. Meantime, if you anticipate being impacted by any of the issues raised in this article please contact a member of the firm's Rural Business and Natural Capital team or your usual Brodies' contact.