SCOTLAND must pass its own environment laws to protect nature after Brexit, campaigners say.
Scottish Environment Link – a 35-member coalition including RSPB Scotland, the Scottish Wildlife Trust and WWF Scotland – will launch a drive for a new Environment Act at Holyrood today.
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The group says 80% of environmental legislation currently comes from the EU and leaving the bloc will mean losing “unrivalled support and enforcement” from Brussels and its agencies.
This could mean new threats to seabirds, waterways, peatlands and more.
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Charles Dundas, chair of Scottish Environment Link, said: “Our environment is important not just in terms of its natural and cultural wealth. It is our life support system and we rely on it for food, clean water and air and jobs, 14% of which exist as a result of our nature.
“But this is all under threat. Every day brings new evidence of the global ecological crisis that is underway. Even here in Scotland, with one in 11 species currently at risk of extinction, the effects of climate change and ecosystem collapse are apparent.
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“The legal framework of protections and associated funding that we currently receive from the EU have been pivotal in holding back the tide of further biodiversity declines.”
Joyce McMillan, president of the body, added: “Now more than ever, we need a Scottish Environment Act that builds on existing Scottish Government commitments to retain EU protections.
“This would send a clear message to UK and EU partners as well as the rest of the world that we are serious about protecting and enhancing our natural environment.”
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