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13 May 2025
MSPs from the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs & Islands Committee have visited three estates in the Cairngorms National Park and held a community engagement event to further their scrutiny of the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill.
The fact-finding visit began in Grantown on Spey on the evening of Sunday 11 May with a community engagement event held in the offices of the National Park Authority.
MSPs met with a range of local community representatives from the Cairngorms National Park to discuss the possible impacts of proposals outlined in the Bill, which aims to help restore nature and protect biodiversity in Scotland.
Members heard views on the introduction of binding biodiversity targets for Scotland; changes to the aims and purposes of national parks; and National Park Authorities being empowered to issue fixed penalty notices for breaches of byelaws.
On Monday 12 May, Members then visited Seafield, Dorback and Abernethy estates to learn more about different initiatives to tackle biodiversity loss and conserve the natural environment including native woodland expansion, deer management, natural regeneration, river restoration and natural capital investment.
Committee Members in attendance at the event were Finlay Carson MSP, Tim Eagle MSP, Emma Harper MSP, Mark Ruskell MSP, Rhoda Grant MSP and Elena Whitham MSP.
Reflecting on the visit, Committee Convener, Finlay Carson MSP, said;
“Meeting with people and groups living and working in the national park has provided us with a deeper understanding of the issues and concerns local people have about how this Bill might impact them and their day-to-day working lives.
“Visiting the estates, we gained fresh insights and important practical detail about how measures in the Bill might impact the land management of estates and what more might be done to help tackle biodiversity loss and conserve the natural environment.
“All of these new perspectives will help us ensure the Bill’s proposals are ’fit for purpose’ to effectively underpin Scotland’s goals of protecting biodiversity and reducing harmful carbon emissions.”
Grant Moir, Chief Executive Officer, Cairngorms National Park Authority said;
“It's important that the development of the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill is informed by a variety of different perspectives, not least those living and working in our national parks. We were delighted to host the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee in the Cairngorms and were grateful for the contributions of everyone who attended the event and hosted the site visits.”
The Committee held a call for views which closed on 9 May and is due to publish responses received over the coming weeks.
Members will now take oral evidence over the coming months before submitting a report to the Scottish Parliament later in the year.
A summary note of discussions held at the community event will be published over the coming weeks.
The Bill was introduced on 19 February 2025.
Follow progress on the Committee’s inquiry and access the Bill’s accompanying documents
Read SPICe’s briefing for the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill
The Bill places a duty on Ministers to set the first legally binding nature restoration targets in Scotland, recognising that previous non-statutory approaches have failed to halt nature decline.
It also provides Scottish Ministers with powers to amend environmental impact assessment legislation and habitats regulations; make changes to National Parks legislation to modernise how they are managed; and make detailed changes to wild deer legislation, to modernise how they are managed and respond to the twin climate and nature crises.
The Scottish Government says that, “taken together, the provisions in this Bill aim to support the work already being undertaken by land managers, farmers, nature agencies, charities and the stewards of our land, to restore and protect the natural environment on which we all depend.”
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