What advice or guidance is available to local authorities and other public bodies on the integration of biodiversity conservation into thei…

The Scottish Executive recognises that public bodies have a key role to play in safeguarding and conserving Scotland’s biodiversity. The Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 will give all public bodies in Scotland a duty to further the conservation of biodiversity as they carry out their functions, and the Executive is currently working with public bodies to develop guidance on effectiveimplementation of this duty. The Scottish Biodiversity Forum, of which the Executive is a member, has recently published guidance for public bodies on the integration of biodiversity conservation into their Best Value policies entitled Best Value and Biodiversity in Scotland. The forum has distributed this guidance widely among public bodies, and it is also available on the forum’s website at www.scotland.gov.uk/biodiversity.