Scottish Budget: RSPB Scotland call on budget to ‘invest in nature’

As the Scottish Government proposes its draft budget to Parliament, RSPB Scotland has said there is a need for adequate Government spending to ensure the country’s outstanding natural environment is protected and restored.

RSPB said as well as being important in its own right, such investment would contribute to ‘green growth’ by underpinning many industries including tourism, farming and crofting, fishing and Scotch Whisky. It would also help maximise the contribution of nature to the fight against climate change.

RSPB Scotland will be seeking a number of commitments when Finance Secretary John Swinney MSP delivers his Draft Budget for 2013-2014 including continuation of adequate funding for Scotland’s agri-environment schemes, to support farmers and crofters choosing to manage land in an environmentally friendly manner; a real commitment of £12m a year over ten years to fund peatland restoration across Scotland, both for its wildlife value but also for its carbon storage and capturing capacity; and adequate resources for Scotland’s statutory nature conservation body, SNH, and other public bodies, such as SEPA, the National Parks, etc, so that they can grasp the challenges of managing and protecting our special wildlife sites (SSSIs) and that of meeting the Government’s 2020 targets for biodiversity.


Continued:  http://www.govopps.co.uk/scottish-budget-rspb-scotland-call-on-budget-to-%E2%80%98invest-in-nature%E2%80%99/