I will do my best to get around to the many points that members have raised. As ever, it has been an interesting and enjoyable debate.
I thank Gillian Martin, because I always look forward either to responding to this debate or, when I was not a member of the Government, speaking in it. It is one of the highlights of the year, not least because of all the weird and wonderful stories that it tends to bring to light. We discover that we have a number of superheroes across the chamber, such as Finlay Carson and Angus MacDonald. One year, in relation to the yew tree, Gillian Martin regaled us with tales of her goth days. Today did not disappoint. I did a quick search for Gillian Martin’s potential superhero powers. We might need a catchier name than “seal woman” but she has some great powers and behaviours to look forward to, such as high intelligence—of course, she already has that—travelling, foraging, resting, mating, pupping, digesting, socialising and moulting.
Bruce Crawford made an interesting intervention about the sexual activity of slow worms as Keith Brown spoke about the sticky catchfly.
The species champion initiative covers species on land as well as in the sea, and plants as well as animals. Shona Robison raised the important point that plants underpin all life on earth. This initiative is important because it covers such a wide variety and diversity of species.
I thank everyone for their contributions, which not only were enjoyable but got to the heart of some of the most serious issues that we face today. We realise from listening to the speeches that there is a very delicate balance to our environment and, as Lewis Macdonald has just pointed out, species such as the curlew act as a barometer for biodiversity and a gauge for how the environment is doing. That is why I thank Gillian Martin for the event that she held in Parliament with Scottish Environment LINK on world environment day last week, which highlighted not only some of the major challenges that we face but the ways in which all of us in society can do something about the situation.
Much of the fight has been led by our young people. Last week’s event was attended by the Sunnyside ocean defenders, who personally handed me their contributions to the consultation on our proposed environmental governance and principles. I also want to mention the Ullapool sea savers. Young people are really at the vanguard of some of the action that we are seeing at the moment.
It is also important to remember that Scotland is not only taking action but leading the world with the ambitious targets that we are putting in place. With our recent amendments to the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Bill, we are aiming for net zero emissions by 2045. If we achieve that, it will mean that, within a generation, Scotland will no longer be contributing negatively to climate change.
A number of members have mentioned the recent global assessment of biodiversity that has highlighted the serious impacts of the biodiversity loss that is happening around the world. That report underlines the links between biodiversity loss and climate change; indeed, members will have heard the First Minister say in response to a question from Claudia Beamish that biodiversity loss is as important as climate change. As with climate change, we want Scotland to be at the forefront of addressing those issues.
From the hard-working pollinators that sustain our ecosystems to our keystone species, we have taken action to address the climate emergency. Pollinators are a vital part of our biodiversity and wider environment—many of our native wildflowers, shrubs and trees would be unable to exist without them—and bees and hoverflies also provide the backbone for much of Scotland’s agriculture, contributing around £43 million to the economy each year. In 2017, we set out a 10-year pollinator strategy for Scotland to make our country more pollinator friendly and to halt and reverse the decline in native pollinator populations.
With regard to other species that we have, I highlight our red squirrel population, which is championed by Gail Ross, who, like Gillian Martin, is a champion of land and sea, with a few species to their name. That population was seriously in decline, due to their invasive non-native cousins, the grey squirrels, but thanks to the work of the saving Scotland’s red squirrels project, they are now returning to areas in Aberdeenshire and Tayside where they had previously disappeared.
However, there is, as always, so much more that we need to do, and a number of members—particularly Finlay Carson, Claudia Beamish and Alison Johnstone—made that point during the debate. As far as biodiversity is concerned, we want Scotland to be the first country to carry out a thorough analysis of what we are already doing, the areas where we need to do more and what we should be doing differently, and we aim to write to the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee with our initial assessment by the end of 2019.
Alison Johnstone asked about our biodiversity targets. We are on track to achieve seven out of the 20 that were agreed by the international community in Aichi in 2010, and we are progressing towards another 12. However, we have to step up and do more if we are going to meet the 2020 deadline.
That is where species champions can play such a key role. It will come as no surprise that, as champion for the hen harrier—something that was mentioned during the debate—I feel very passionately about the species champion initiative, and it is clear that many in the chamber feel the same way. The initiative was relaunched in September 2016 and, to date, 104 MSPs—or 80 per cent of the Parliament—are now species champions. However, I want to echo Claudia Beamish’s call for the remaining 20 per cent to join in; it is not too late to sign up, and I really want 100 per cent of MSPs to be involved.
Before I finish, I want to do my job as species champion and draw people’s attention to the hen harrier. I represent a constituency where the harrier should be thriving; however, it is not. As we are all aware, deliberate and illegal persecution continues to threaten the very existence of raptors, and we need to end it. There are a number of on-going projects that are geared towards growing and sustaining raptor populations in Scotland. For example, the heads up for harriers project works with estates to identify, monitor and thereby protect hen harrier nests. At the end of 2017, we set up an independent group to conduct an in-depth review of how grouse moor management can be made sustainable and compliant with the law, and one of the key issues that is being examined is raptor persecution. Led by Professor Werritty of the University of Dundee, the group is due to report later in the summer.
There is also the partnership for action against wildlife crime in Scotland, which comprises a variety of organisations and sectors, including the police, the shooting industry, the science community and conservation groups, the ultimate aim of which is to reduce raptor crime. In response to Alexander Burnett, I point out that I chaired a meeting of that group yesterday; it has a sub-group on freshwater pearl mussels that is considering all the issues in that respect.
Unfortunately, however, even with so many groups working together, harrier conservation efforts are continually being let down. In the last few months, for example, we have seen the disappearances of hen harriers Marci and Skylar. The Government, though, is committed to doing more and, indeed, to doing all that we can to end this persecution.
It is fantastic to have been able to focus on the wonderful diversity of our species in Scotland and to hear the enthusiasm and commitment of members in the chamber. The debate has also raised awareness of some of the serious issues that we face in Scotland, but I want to say again that the Scottish Government is taking the matter very seriously and is taking action to prevent further biodiversity loss. I hope that the debate has prompted us all to consider what further action we need to take to protect our native species and enhance biodiversity right across Scotland.