ENVIRONMENTAL campaigners have demanded legislation at Holyrood to support nature recovery in Scotland.

Thirty-eight organisations, including RSPB Scotland, the Scottish Wildlife Trust and WWF Scotland, have united to launch the Scotland Loves Nature campaign.

They have urged SNP First Minister John Swinney to include new statutory targets halt the decline in nature by 2030 and begin restoring it by 2045 in his inaugural programme for government, expected in September.

Recent polling commissioned by research group Diffley Partnership has shown that 74 per cent of Scots backed the targets.

 Scottish Environment Link’s Deborah Long said: “Nature makes an enormous difference to our wellbeing and quality of life, and a healthy natural environment is our first line of defence against climate change.

“Sadly, our environment faces enormous challenges, and we risk losing some of our iconic species altogether. But we also know that nature can recover.

“The overwhelming majority of Scots back our call for legal targets for nature recovery.

“We are calling on the Scottish government to bring forward a natural environment Bill and get nature back on track.”

A Scottish government spokesperson said: “Further actions to protect and restore nature will be a key consideration in the upcoming programme for government.”