Help Talking-up Scotland keep going

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From the at times nakedly anti-SNP Ferret yesterday:

Only a tiny percentage of Scotland’s most fragile natural environments are being monitored by the national agency tasked with protecting them, The Ferret can reveal, with the number of inspections on the decline.

Just 54 protected sites, which include national parks, mountains, wetlands, forests, ancient woods and peatlands, were monitored in 2025 by NatureScot, according to details released under freedom of information legislation.

The figure makes up less than three per cent of protected sites, which often support diverse and endangered flora and fauna.

https://www.theferret.scot/just-three-per-cent-of-scotlands-most-fragile-natural-environments-are-monitored-by-the-agency-charged-with-protecting-them/

The 3% figure is real, but it is a one-year statistic thus not significant in that sense and it is easy to over-read what it means. NatureScot’s Site Condition Monitoring is a rolling programme across roughly 2,000 protected sites and more than 5,600 designated features (habitats, species populations, geological features). It was never designed to visit every site every year. Sensitive features are meant to be checked on cycles of about 6 years; more stable ones (especially earth-science features) on much longer cycles. https://www.nature.scot/statistical-news-release-proportion-scotlands-protected-sites-favourable-condition-2026

Also, relative to England, Scotland does very well. See:

Scottish Government initiatives push Scotland well ahead of the rest of the UK in preserving nature

As UK Government fails 7 out of 10 targets for England, Scottish Government initiatives push Scotland well ahead of the rest of the UK in preserving nature but this is all they have to criticise it weeks before the Election

Help Talking-up Scotland keep going

Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going

Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421