AS OF May this year, Scottish Natural Heritage will rebrand to 'NatureScot' to be more recognisable to the general public as Scotland’s nature agency and the organisation responsible for restoring and enriching our biodiversity.

A recent survey found that while a majority of people had heard of Scottish Natural Heritage, awareness of the organisation’s remit remained relatively low, with respondents most likely to associate it with protecting or looking after Scotland’s heritage, culture or history.

The Scottish Nature Omnibus survey also found increasing public concern about biodiversity, with 65% of people agreeing that there will be less variety of life in Scotland over the next 50 years.

This figure has increased from 63% in 2017 and it also found that over the same period, the proportion of adults concerned about Scotland’s biodiversity has increased from 68% to 71%.

However, there was a slight drop in the percentage saying they were taking action to be a green consumer, 72% to 70% and a green traveller, 66% compared to 65%.

SNH chief executive Francesca Osowska commented: “This survey appears to show a growing concern about the many challenges our biodiversity is facing. There is no doubt that this is an important moment for the state of nature both at home and globally, and it may be that increased publicity surrounding the declaration of a climate emergency and activists such as Sir David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg is increasingly cutting through to the public.

“However it’s clear from some of the findings that there is still much work to be done to translate awareness into action and encourage more people to do more for our biodiversity,” she continued

“As Scotland’s nature agency our mission is to improve our natural environment and inspire everyone to care more about it. Our forthcoming rebrand to NatureScot is a clear statement to the public that nature is at the forefront of everything that we do.

“It will allow us to reach and engage more people on the importance of protecting and enhancing our biodiversity and the role we can all play in ensuring a nature-rich future for Scotland,” Ms Osowska concluded.