NatureScot receives £4.2 million to save some of Scotland’s vulnerable species

NatureScot has received a £4.2 million lifeline to help conserve some of Scotland’s most threatened coastal and island species.

The £4,232,000 given from The National Lottery Heritage Fund will support urgent action needed to help save 37 threatened species.

A four-and-a-half year programme will support seven project areas in some of the most geographically remote and diverse communities in Scotland.

From the Solway to Shetland and along the East Coast to the Outer Hebrides, the funding will help conserve threatened species including the Great Yellow bumblebee, Scottish primrose and little tern.

Species loss is a ‘global threat to human wellbeing’

NatureScot received the award for its 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 partnership will use expert scientific knowledge and local networks to provide more opportunities for people and communities to get more involved in protecting local wildlife.

Francesca Osowska, NatureScot’s chief executive, said a lot of these species are now on the brink of extinction.

“Their survival isn’t just important for conservation,” she said. “Biodiversity loss is a global threat to human wellbeing so it’s vital we take action to halt this decline now.

“Species on the Edge is one of the UK’s most ambitious nature projects and an essential part of our response to the nature and climate crises.

“We are incredibly grateful to receive this support today from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

“This funding will support our work to boost Scotland’s species recovery, combining knowledge, expertise and resources to protect, restore and enhance Scotland’s nature for future generations.”

Helping to safeguard ‘vulnerable coastal inhabitants’

A State of Nature Scotland Report 2019 showed that 49% of Scottish species have decreased from 1994 to 2016. Of the 6,413 species assessed, 11% are are on the edge of extinction.

The majority of the 37 species targeted by the project are being threatened due to changes in land use and climate change.

Caroline Clark, Scotland director of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Scotland’s coastline is dramatic, rugged, wild and beautiful. At the same time it is home to a fragile ecology, a natural heritage that we have a duty to protect.

“I am delighted that thanks to National Lottery Players we are able fund Species on the Edge.

“NatureScot and their partners bring huge amounts of expertise, experience and enthusiasm to this ambitious project to safeguard and encourage some of our most vulnerable coastal inhabitants.”