This 2020 Challenge is Scotland’s response to the European Union’s Biodiversity Strategy for 2020 and the ‘Aichi Targets’ set by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. These call for a step change in efforts to halt the loss of biodiversity and restore the essential services that a healthy natural environment provides. Rising to this, our 2020 Challenge aims to:
• increase the general level of biodiversity on land and in our seas, and support healthy, well-functioning ecosystems;
• engage people with the natural world, for the health and well-being benefits that this brings, and empower them to have a say in decisions about their environment;
• maximise the benefits for Scotland of a diverse natural environment and the services it provides, contributing to sustainable economic growth.