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Towards a strategy for Scotland's biodiversity
THE RESOURCE AND TRENDS
3. OVERVIEW AND CONCLUSIONS
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) contains the following definition of 'biodiversity'.
'Biological diversity' means the variability among living organisms from all sources including,
inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems'.
In essence, this means that biodiversity has to be considered at three levels - the habitat level (ecosystems), the species level (diversity between species) and the genetic level (diversity within species). It is essential that biodiversity is addressed at all three levels within the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy (SBS) if the aims of the CBD are to be achieved.
In Scotland we know a considerable amount about the biodiversity resource, more at the species and habitat levels than at the genetic level. We can be proud about the resource, on land, in fresh waters and in the seas surrounding Scotland. As chapter 1 says
"For its size, Scotland possesses a mixture, diversity and close inter-relation of habitats that is particularly unusual and worthy of protection. These mosaics create high landscape value and are the essence of Scotland's natural beauty".
Although the chapters focus on the scientific aspects of biodiversity, chapter 1 also reminds us of the economic values of biodiversity, important in creating a prosperous Scotland, and of the social values of biodiversity, important in sustaining the environment in which we want to live.
Thus, conserving and enhancing Scotland's biodiversity must go hand in hand with meeting the social and economic needs of Scotland's people. The futures of many of Scotland's rural and coastal communities are reliant upon the sustainable use of natural resources, on land, in fresh water, along estuaries and at sea.
It is a truism that change is everywhere and that change is inevitable. Scotland's biodiversity resource never has been static and never will be static. Biological and earth science processes are dynamic, though they are often perceived over very different time periods. This is clearly stated in chapter 2 by the passage
"Trends reflect change and environmental change is continuous. Scotland's environment is the result of several thousands of years of change, with ecosystems developing under particular combinations of edaphic, topographic and climatic influences, and the activities of people. Directly or indirectly, human influence has come to be a dominant cause of the change in recent times".
This again brings out the inter-dependence of Scotland's biodiversity and the activities of its people. A key message of chapter 2 is that
there will be potentially large, but relatively unquantifiable, effects on biodiversity due to anthropogenically-induced climate change;
soils are "the largely unseen foundation" of much of Scotland's terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity; and
the data give a partial and approximate view of some of the more obvious trends in Scotland's biodiversity, both favourable and unfavourable.
Regardless of how we analyse the state of Scotland's biodiversity, or attempt to find data sets that tell us about trends, there will always be questions about what is happening now. It is to be able to attempt to answer such questions, in a situation of incredible complexity, that we need to have some indicators. Developing candidate indicators of the state of Scotland's biodiversity (Wilson
et al, 2003)provides information that could help to create that suite of indicators, highlighting 15 sets of data that can be used to indicate trends in Scottish wildlife. Other indicators will need to be added to the scientific set to reflect the social and economic aspects of biodiversity, and as a total package these will also be able to assist in the assessment of whether or not development in Scotland is becoming more sustainable.
Biodiversity is itself a cross-cutting issue, having ramifications in all aspects of Scottish life. Biodiversity must therefore be a part of the many other strategies and policies that relate to water and land use in Scotland. Examples of such policies and strategies that either do, or should, consider biodiversity include fisheries, aquaculture, the coastal zone, agriculture, forestry, the natural heritage, and pollution prevention. In particular, the lack of a soil sustainability (protection) strategy in Scotland is an omission that needs to be rectified urgently.
Research about Scotland's biodiversity is important, not only in relation to filling the gap in our knowledge, but also in finding ways of managing the natural resources of Scotland most effectively and in ameliorating the effects of some of newer impacts, such as developing technologies and climate change. The Scottish Biodiversity Forum has developed a research strategy (Anon., 2002) which highlighted three particular research themes that need development. These are
research related to monitoring and surveillance,
research related to BAP-specific issues (including management of habitats and ecosystems, the effects of non-native species, re-introductions, genetic research, the impacts of pollution and the development of best-practice guidance), and
research on cross-cutting issues (including species diversity, genetic diversity, land use, ecosystem function, climate change, economic valuation and public perceptions of biodiversity).
The UK has about 440 published plans for habitats (habitat action plans - HAPs) and species (species action plans - SAPs); these are all considered to be priority habitats and priority species at the UK level. The 32 local authorities in Scotland are working either individually or together to write and publish 26 local biodiversity action plans (LBAPs). There is at times a mis-match between the UK-level and local-level HAPs, SAPs and LBAPs. The differences of approach, which could be viewed as 'top-down' and 'bottom-up', need to be resolved. Despite the amount of information in chapters 1 and 2, there has not yet been a 'middle-out' approach. The APSG therefore sees it as important that there is a full integration of UK level, Scotland level and local level plans.
Finally, a taxonomic initiative is needed in Scotland so as to understand fully what species exist on the land and in the freshwater of Scotland and in the seas around Scotland, and to understand something about the genetic variability of some of these species. Sweden has undertaken to produce an inventory of all species in its territory within 25 years. Scotland probably starts from a better knowledge-base than Sweden and is likely to have a smaller fauna and flora (only about 65 per cent that of Sweden for groups that can be compared). It would certainly be a challenge, but with the scientific and academic expertise that exists in Scotland today, it would not be impossible to create an inventory of Scotland's biodiversity during the coming decade or two.
The APSG's hope, in editing three of its working papers into this publication, is that the material will stimulate both thinking and action. Will it be possible, in say 10 years time, to state that we really know more about Scotland's biodiversity, and have carried out the actions to halt or reverse declines? Will it be possible for a much larger section of Scotland's population to identify with the need to protect Scotland's biodiversity and to use it wisely? This publication is only one small step in our wish to answer 'yes' to such questions.
Acknowledgements: In editing this publication, I should like to express my thanks to all of the members of the Action Plan & Science Group (APSG) of the Scottish Biodiversity Forum, but especially to James Curran, Alister Jones and Jeremy Wilson who led the preparation of chapters 1, 2 and 3 respectively. I am also extremely grateful to the many people outside the formal membership of the APSG, especially Ed Mackey, who have contributed freely of their time and knowledge, helping to make the three chapters as informative as possible. My thanks are also due to Jo Newman for undertaking so much of the work of ensuring that the publication is well presented, and to The Leverhulme Trust for the award of an Emeritus Fellowship that has supported my continuing interest in the subject of biodiversity.
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