The law and biodiversity

The Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004    gives all public bodies in Scotland a duty to "further the conservation of biodiversity" as they carry out their work. This means that they must reduce any negative effects on biodiversity, and look for ways of helping biodiversity in their day-to-day business.

The duty applies to all Local Authorities and therefore to school estates.

General guidance on how to implement this legal requirement can be found on the Biodiversity Duty   section of this website.

School estates provide a significant resource for supporting biodiversity and can make a significant contribution to the overall biodiversity goals of a local authority.