That the Parliament celebrates World Wildlife Day, which will be marked on 3 March 2020; considers that this year’s theme, Sustaining all Life on Earth, is vital for raising awareness of wild animal and plant species as key components of the world’s biodiversity; considers that there is a global biodiversity crisis and that this is inextricably linked to the climate emergency; notes with concern the recent report from the UN Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, which outlines the forces that affect biodiversity and ecosystems and can encourage an urgent global response from governments around the world in making transformative changes to the way nature is protected and restored while there is still time; further notes the recent report, State of Nature Scotland Report 2019, by government agencies and leading wildlife organisations, which calls attention to how Scotland’s biodiversity is suffering from the impact of pressures such as habitat fragmentation, climate change and invasive non-native species, which it understands has resulted in a 49% decrease in Scottish species; acknowledges the work done by community groups across Scotland, such as the River Ythan Trust, to tackle invasive non-native species, and recognises what it considers the importance of Scottish Environment LINK’s Species Champions initiative, which has 104 MSPs signed up to promote and protect Scotland’s wildlife through raising awareness within Scotland’s political community while shaping policy to promote and secure biodiversity.
Supported by: Richard Lyle, Sandra White, Stuart McMillan, John Mason, Kenneth Gibson, Gil Paterson, Claudia Beamish, David Torrance, Bill Kidd, Willie Coffey, Joan McAlpine, Stewart Stevenson, Alex Rowley, Fulton MacGregor, Liam McArthur, Mark Ruskell, David Stewart, Lewis Macdonald, Rhoda Grant, Ruth Maguire, Tom Arthur, Colin Smyth, Maureen Watt