Are we getting the nature bill Scotland needs?

Back in July 2025, I wrote that Scotland’s Natural Environment Bill needed a glow-up. With the final vote next week, are we getting the bill that Scotland’s nature needs?

With Scotland’s nature in decline, nature recovery targets could be the wind in the sails that speeds Scotland’s future government towards decisive action for nature.

Scotland’s next government will inherit a framework for creating nature recovery targets. These will be binding targets that future governments must meet – or risk political and public outrage.

Opposition parties took the chance to put their stamp on the bill, with over 350 amendments – potential changes – submitted. But with the final vote on this bill looming, the question is: has it had a glow-up – or is it still waiting for its moment in the light?

This was a bill with sound ecological grounding. It could have been the turning point for Scotland’s nature. But right now, its success depends entirely on whether the next government wants that too. 

Whoever is elected on 7 May 2026 to the Scottish Parliament could create bold, ambitious targets for nature recovery, on land and at sea. 

But they could also not. 

Rewilding concepts like recovering keystone species, reinstating ecological connectivity and restoring natural processes should be the beating heart of a nature recovery bill. But the bill as delivered to the full Scottish Parliament dodges these issues. This is despite clear expert advice that nature recovery targets should cover all species – and would benefit from including keystone species too. 

Nature recovery targets that ignore keystone species are doomed to failure. It’s like trying to fix a broken engine without repairing the most important parts. 

Important conversations about land designations were also dodged. Mounting evidence shows that our decades-old, poorly-monitored system of ​‘land designations’ – SSSIs (Sites of Special Scientific Interest), SACs (Special Areas of Conservation) and so on – aren’t always suited to managing land for nature recovery at scale. We know there are places where nature is being held back by this ​‘alphabet soup’ of land designations. 

The end result of this caution will be bureaucracy instead of bold action – and delays instead of decisiveness. 

But there were a few moments where hope for a wilder Scotland broke through, where opposition parties teamed up to steer the bill in a hopeful direction.

On 27 January, the debate moves from the committee room to the main chamber of the Scottish Parliament. This is where every MSP in Scotland can have their say and vote on final changes to the bill. 

Rewilding asks for big, bold action on nature recovery – whether it’s national efforts to return oysters to our seabeds or return lynx to our forests. Does this bill hit the mark? We’ll be keeping an eye out for the following:

• Filling the gaps: With the habitats regulations section removed from the bill, will the government commit to publishing better guidance on how they relate to nature recovery – or go even further and commit to a review of land designations to understand where they need modernising? 
• Marine recovery: With amendments lodged on inshore fishing limits and low-impact fishing zones, there’s an opportunity to really boost protections for our waters. Following yet more delay on marine protection, can opposition parties band together to deliver a win for Scotland’s coasts and seas? 
• Ecological connectivity: Will MSPs embed ​‘connectivity’ into the bill, ensuring nature isn’t just trapped in isolated pockets, but can move and thrive across the landscape?
• Deer management: With a split between those favouring voluntary deer management arrangements and those urging reform, Stage 3 will be a flashpoint for deer management – a critical pillar for allowing our native woodlands to naturally regenerate. Which of the multiple amendments on deer plans, venison plans and deer data dashboards will be voted in?

As we head towards the May 2026 elections in Scotland, this bill is the legacy the current Parliament will leave for our land and seas. 

We need to make sure that legacy is as bold and as wild as it can be. That’s why Rewilding Britain will continue to work alongside partners in the Scottish Rewilding Alliance to speak up for wilder nature. 

The huge number of amendments submitted to this bill showed how important nature is to our political parties. The changes that made the cut resulted from parties working together for nature. Now, more than ever, we need to show our political parties how much that matters. No more delays and no more dodging difficult conversations. When Scotland’s parties publish their manifestos this spring, we need nature to be front and centre. 

We’ll be looking to you in the coming months to speak up too; your voice matters. You can take the politicians to task at the first rewilding hustings on 20 March . 

And once the election is done and dusted, we’ll be there to hold the next government to account.