Technical Information: Nature: Scotland’s nature is protected and restored with flourishing biodiversity and clean and healthy air, water, seas and soils

Last updated: 25 June 2025

Marine & terrestrial species

Indicator updated: 11 January 2024

Index (relative to 1994 baseline)
Year Terrestrial Occupancy Terrestrial Abundance Marine Abundance
1994 100.0 100.0 100.0
1995 104.9 115.8 104.1
1996 108.8 115.0 106.3
1997 112.1 102.9 106.2
1998 114.6 92.1 103.9
1999 116.8 87.4 102.2
2000 118.8 90.9 99.3
2001 120.6 95.3 95.4
2002 122.2 99.6 91.6
2003 123.9 105.2 88.4
2004 125.5 107.3 84.5
2005 126.9 103.3 81.8
2006 127.8 98.3 79.7
2007 128.2 94.7 77.2
2008 128.0 97.0 74.7
2009 127.7 102.8 72.8
2010 127.0 104.6 69.5
2011 125.7 99.2 65.3
2012 124.2 92.0 64.5
2013 123.3 89.0 64.3
2014 123.0 86.8 65.9
2015 123.0 85.4 66.4
2016 124.0 87.4 67.6
2017 NA 92.6 67.3
2018 NA 99.4 64.3
2019 NA 101.3 59.4

In 2021, the new marine and terrestrial species indicator replaced the index of abundance of terrestrial breeding birds as the biodiversity indicator included in the National Performance Framework. The new indicator shows separate trends in seabird species’ abundance, terrestrial species abundance and terrestrial species’ occupancy. Occupancy trends are based on the number of sites where a species is present, reflecting the size of the range within which it is found, and can be less sensitive to change than measures of abundance. Where trend data for a species is available for both abundance and occupancy, the abundance data is used. Data for these trends are obtained from several existing sources. Their combined trends determine the overall indicator performance.

The indicators are the average of the constituent species’ trends, set to a value of 100 in the start year (the baseline). Changes subsequent to this reflect the average change in species abundance or occupancy; if on average species’ trends doubled, the indicator would rise to 200, if they halved it would fall to a value of 50. A smoothing process is used to reduce the impact of between-year fluctuations, such as might be caused by variation in weather, and so make underlying trends easier to detect.

Breakdowns for the three measures are available for the main taxonomic groups. These breakdowns can be viewed on the NatureScot website.

The marine elements of the indicator continue to be under development as new species data becomes available. Further information on marine biodiversity status can be found in the Scotland Marine Assessment 2020.

A report detailing the development of the Marine and Terrestrial Species Indicator, including the sources of the data and the methodology for producing the headline figures, was published by the Scottish Government in March 2021.

Source: Nature Scot

Update Frequency: Annual

Further Information: marine and terrestrial species indicator information is available from NatureScot. Information on Scotland’s Biodiversity Strategy Indicators is available here – these indicators track more detailed changes in biodiversity forScotland’s species, habitats and ecosystems.

Air pollutant emissions

Indicator updated: 25 June 2025

Indexed to 2005 values

Air pollutant emissions (relative to 2005 baseline)
Year CO NOx PM10 PM2.5 SO2 VOC NH3 Pb Dioxins
2005 100.00000 100.00000 100.00000 100.00000 100.000000 100.00000 100.00000 100.00000 100.00000
2006 95.64348 101.21850 99.01719 98.83583 107.034598 97.04334 95.99838 94.95423 83.96768
2007 95.83459 97.47626 91.32799 90.63833 90.055685 96.55904 95.79834 79.83823 74.22871
2008 81.17755 88.49458 76.59694 76.81057 78.252918 91.83428 89.82858 73.03579 74.42258
2009 70.22770 79.78442 72.84805 71.50722 76.625213 81.89400 91.02461 66.67641 68.83227
2010 71.30684 77.88718 77.31975 71.90364 87.878812 81.01274 91.43012 73.83544 66.35967
2011 65.90628 67.78975 69.41685 64.11969 66.098019 78.90031 90.60411 68.19679 64.39501
2012 62.94673 65.89298 64.90522 61.69553 64.499816 80.32673 89.66235 70.86268 57.78241
2013 58.95351 62.22470 64.32395 57.90338 48.802447 77.94762 86.74373 63.18452 57.01498
2014 55.04235 60.52440 61.59298 55.21602 36.891160 78.97483 91.17275 66.40189 55.01426
2015 52.76189 58.74638 59.74782 53.66985 28.188588 81.00895 92.81232 61.59743 55.15728
2016 48.11081 53.45349 60.32354 52.33012 18.995829 82.15510 94.57106 59.04441 52.84426
2017 47.22420 50.73585 61.52920 50.94348 14.911649 81.93061 91.64222 61.73683 52.43039
2018 46.20772 50.20325 59.59284 50.87570 13.950695 83.22165 89.77186 59.62087 51.39024
2019 42.36198 47.23786 57.96692 48.36459 12.499422 82.79453 90.84174 59.12165 48.51423
2020 35.66636 40.76812 49.18178 40.98296 7.583278 80.32464 88.58723 45.13839 43.16588
2021 38.08568 40.17191 51.73519 42.64272 7.407782 80.42352 87.95192 54.90115 44.75886
2022 37.61409 37.30771 52.35586 41.85041 7.397768 80.22596 85.83330 57.04312 45.65103

Emissions in kilotonnes

Air pollutant emissions (Kilotonnes)
Year CO NOx PM10 PM2.5 SO2 VOC NH3 Pb Dioxins
2005 229.10 203.00 18.95 12.17 99.53 179.81 36.19 0.01 16.96
2006 219.12 205.48 18.76 12.03 106.53 174.50 34.74 0.01 14.24
2007 219.56 197.88 17.30 11.03 89.63 173.62 34.67 0.01 12.59
2008 185.98 179.65 14.51 9.35 77.89 165.13 32.51 0.01 12.63
2009 160.89 161.96 13.80 8.70 76.27 147.25 32.94 0.01 11.68
2010 163.37 158.11 14.65 8.75 87.47 145.67 33.09 0.01 11.26
2011 150.99 137.61 13.15 7.80 65.79 141.87 32.79 0.01 10.92
2012 144.21 133.76 12.30 7.51 64.20 144.44 32.45 0.01 9.80
2013 135.06 126.32 12.19 7.05 48.57 140.16 31.40 0.01 9.67
2014 126.10 122.87 11.67 6.72 36.72 142.01 33.00 0.01 9.33
2015 120.88 119.26 11.32 6.53 28.06 145.66 33.59 0.01 9.36
2016 110.22 108.51 11.43 6.37 18.91 147.72 34.23 0.01 8.96
2017 108.19 102.99 11.66 6.20 14.84 147.32 33.17 0.01 8.89
2018 105.86 101.91 11.29 6.19 13.89 149.64 32.49 0.01 8.72
2019 97.05 95.89 10.98 5.89 12.44 148.87 32.88 0.01 8.23
2020 81.71 82.76 9.32 4.99 7.55 144.43 32.06 0.01 7.32
2021 87.26 81.55 9.80 5.19 7.37 144.61 31.83 0.01 7.59
2022 86.17 75.74 9.92 5.09 7.36 144.26 31.07 0.01 7.74

This indicator gives trends in annual emissions of nine air pollutants in Scotland: NH3 (ammonia), CO (carbon monoxide), NOx (nitrogen oxides), NMVOCs (non-methane volatile organic compounds), PM10 (particulates smaller than 10 microns), dioxins, PM2.5 (particulates smaller than 2.5 microns), SO2 (sulphur dioxide) and Pb (lead). Emissions are reported in kilotonnes (kt).

Statutory targets limiting annual emissions of each pollutant at the UK level are stated in the National Emission Ceilings Directive Regulations 2018.

Source: Air Pollutant Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Please note that the most recent report, published in October 2024, provided data for 2005 to 2022.

Update Frequency: Annual.

Further Information: Air quality indicator information is available from SEPA.

Freshwater condition

Indicator updated: 22 February 2023

Percentage of Freshwater Bodies at Good or Better ecological status/potential
Year Water Quality Water resources (flows and levels) Access for fish migration Physical condition
2016 80.3 87.0 87.0 88.7
2017 81.1 87.4 87.4 88.8
2018 82.9 87.4 86.9 88.8
2019 83.9 87.3 88.0 88.3
2020 83.9 88.9 88.2 88.9
2022 83.8 NA NA NA

Targets for achieving Good or better ecological status are set through the statutory River Basin Management Plans process.

Source: SEPA Water Environment Hub.

Update Frequency: Annual

Further Information: Freshwater condition indicator information is available from SEPA.

Marine environmental quality

There are four indicators concerning marine environmental quality.

(i) Clean seas

Indicator updated: 16 December 2022

Year Percentage of acceptable regions (%)
2015 90
2016 90
2017 93
2018 93
2019 93
2020 93

This National Performance Framework indicator reports the percentage of biogeographical regions with acceptably low levels of chemical contaminants. This is assessed by considering the extent to which levels of metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are sufficiently low that they are unlikely to cause adverse effects in marine organisms in Scottish waters.

The Indicator is calculated by assessing the concentrations of cadmium, lead, mercury, PAHs and PCBs in biota (fish and shellfish) and sediment in three regions: the Northern North Sea, Minches and Western Scotland, and Irish Sea (Clyde & Solway).

Source: UK Clean Safe Seas Evidence Group clean seas assessment.

Update Frequency: Annual

Further Information: Clean seas metric information is available on the National Performance Framework website.

(ii) Beach litter

Indicator updated: 04 November 2021

Coast Items of litter per 100 metres of beach
Orkney 40
East Coast (North) 250
Firth of Forth (Beaches) 300
Moray Firth 320
Clyde 670
Firth of Forth (Harbours) 1600

This metric reports the number of litter items per 100 metres of beach surveyed in six coastal areas of Scotland. Results are presented for the regions Clyde, Orkney, Moray Firth, East Coast (North), Forth and Forth (harbours) and by category of item.

A range of pilot Performance Indicators are proposed which aim to allow the Scottish Government to monitor the state of litter on its beaches, as well as judge the success of its policies in reducing sources of marine plastics and litter. The pilot Scottish Beach Litter Performance Indicators (SBLPIs) utilise the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) Beachwatch citizen-science foreshore surveys (Marine Conservation Society, 2018). These surveys use a standard method, agreed with OSPAR, to count all the visible pieces of plastic and non-plastic litter on a beach and to put these into one of 118 different categories.

Source: Marine Scotland

Update Frequency: Current data is estimated over the 10 year period from 2008 to 2017. Results will be updated every six years.

Further Information: Beach litter metric information is available from Marine Scotland.

(iii) Plastic litter ingested by seabirds

Indicator updated: 04 November 2021

Year Percentage of birds exceeding digested plastic limit (%)
2007-2011 63
2012-2016 56

This metric reports the percentage of fulmars, a species of seabird, exceeding a level of 0.1g of plastic in their stomachs. OSPAR is the mechanism by which 15 Governments and the EU cooperate to protect the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic. OSPAR examines the stomachs of fulmar corpses found on beaches in 5 North Sea areas.

Source: OSPAR

Update Frequency: The metric is updated every six years.

Further Information: Plastic litter ingested by seabirds metric information is available from OSPAR.

(iv) Predicted disturbance to seafloor habitats

Indicator updated: 04 November 2021

Scottish marine regions

Percentage of region in each disturbance category (%)
Scottish Marine Region No predicted disturbace Low disturbance High disturbance
Shetland Isles 4 16 80
North Coast 5 46 49
North East 5 44 51
Clyde 8 26 65
West Highlands 8 27 65
Moray Firth 9 34 57
Orkney Islands 10 48 41
Solway 12 66 22
Forth and Tay 13 39 48
Argyll 20 36 44
Outer Hebrides 36 31 33

Scottish offshore marine regions

Percentage of region in each disturbance category (%)
Scottish Offshore Marine Region No predicted disturbace Low disturbance High disturbance
East Shetland Shelf 0 5 95
Fladen and Moray Firth Offshore 0 14 86
North and West Shetland Shelf 2 8 89
Long Forties 4 59 36
North Scotland Shelf 8 28 64
Hebrides Shelf 23 37 40
Rockall 61 3 36
Bailey 87 1 11
Faroe Shetland Channel 89 1 10
Hatton 98 0 1

This metric reports the predicted extent of physical damage to seafloor habitats due to towed bottom-contact fishing activities, based on modelling of fishing vessels in different areas.

The metric categorises disturbance at the seabed from 0 (none) to 9 (very high). Categories 5 to 9 represent higher levels of disturbance. Areas with a score of 5 and above are considered highly disturbed and, therefore, potentially in poor condition. The proportion of seafloor assessed as being in these categories is provided for each of the 11 SMR (Scottish Marine Region) areas and 10 OMR (Offshore Marine Region) areas.

Data on pressures resulting from human activities and information on sensitivity of habitats are the main components of this indicator. The duration and intensity of the activity, and the physical interaction between the activity and the seabed, are used to define the nature of the pressure assessed in this indicator. The specific combination of pressure and habitat sensitivity is used to establish the overall impact (disturbance) on the habitat.

The degree of disturbance of a habitat is a prediction based on the predicted spatial and temporal overlap of its sensitivity and exposure to a specific pressure. Sensitivity and pressure are combined via a matrix, producing 10 categories of disturbance (0-9, where 0 is no disturbance, and 9 is the greatest amount of disturbance possible). The matrix is used to calculate the disturbance per cell for each surface and subsurface abrasion per year.

The disturbance categories are further aggregated into two groups:

disturbance categories 0 to 4, representing low levels of disturbance.

disturbance categories 5 to 9, representing high levels of disturbance.

Source: Source: Marine Scotland

Update Frequency: The metric is updated every six years.

Further Information: Disturbance to seafloor habitats metric information is available from Marine Scotland.

Soil health

Options for undertaking additional work to identify strategic indicators of soil health are being explored.