Scotland’s Natural Environment Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 28th January 2026. Developed to establish a legal framework for biodiversity targets and tackle the nature crisis, it aims to support the work of land managers, farmers, nature agencies, and the stewards of Scotland’s land and seas. Scotland ranks among the most nature-depleted countries in the world, with around 11% of species under threat of extinction and average species abundance having declined by 15% since 1994. It’s a landmark piece of legislation that places legally binding biodiversity targets on the Scottish Government for the first time, committing Scotland to becoming nature positive by 2030 and actively restoring nature by 2045. It is the most significant piece of nature legislation Scotland has produced in a generation, and its implications for the marine environment are substantial.
What does the Bill do?
The Bill requires Scottish Ministers to set legally binding targets for nature restoration – covering habitat condition and extent, threatened species status, and the environmental conditions necessary for biodiversity regeneration. These targets sit on the same legal footing as Scotland’s climate targets, with Environmental Standards Scotland (ESS) assigned as the independent body responsible for monitoring progress and accountability.
The Bill also strengthens the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010, making climate adaptation a mandatory consideration for Nature Conservation MPAs – embedding climate resilience directly into marine protected area management. Ramsar sites are brought into line with Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas in terms of legal protection, closing a long-standing gap in the framework. Ministers also gain new powers to develop legislation relating to wildfire management, sustainable forestry, and internationally important protected sites.
Beyond the marine provisions, the Bill modernises deer management powers, addressing unsustainable deer populations that are one of the biggest barriers to habitat recovery, and updates National Parks legislation to strengthen their leadership role on nature and climate. Even the requirement for swift nest boxes in all new buildings reflects the Bill’s broad ambition to embed nature recovery across all policy areas.
Why does this matter for marine researchers?
The Bill is framework legislation – the detail of the targets will be set through secondary legislation, a process that will require robust scientific input and create new opportunities for the research community to shape how ambition is translated into measurable outcomes. This is where the research community has its most immediate opportunity. The statutory targets will need to be underpinned by baseline data on habitat condition and species status, much of which does not yet exist at the resolution or spatial scale required. Monitoring frameworks will need to be designed and validated, and assessment methodologies for MPA condition and climate adaptation developed and tested.
Scottish Environment LINK has welcomed the legislation but noted that ambition must be matched by funding and clear metrics. MASTS has highlighted that the strengthened marine provisions create new accountability mechanisms requiring scientific underpinning. Both point to the same conclusion: the research community needs to be actively engaged and included in shaping secondary legislation as it develops – not only to ensure that scientific voices inform new approaches, but to ensure that existing knowledge and expertise are drawn upon to deliver the robust scientific evidence required. The scientific community needs to engage early, particularly as secondary legislation takes shape in the months ahead.
For marine researchers working across Scotland’s seas, this Bill is not just a policy milestone – it is a call for evidence.