Scotland’s wildlife is in trouble but when it comes to taking action, the Scottish Government is failing. Farming, climate change, upland management, urbanisation and other human pressures are contributing to the decimation of our flora and fauna. Almost half of all Scottish species have declined in the past 10 years and 1 in 9 are threatened with extinction.

My name is Holly Gillibrand. I’m a youth environmental campaigner and my future and those of generations to come will be shaped by the actions and decisions we make today.

With COP26 coming to Glasgow, all eyes will be fixed on Scotland for world leadership. But in many cases, this leadership is lacking.

Scotland has missed 13 out of 20 of it’s International (Aichi) Targets on Biodiversity, and was ranked 28th from the bottom out of 218 countries assessed for their levels of biodiversity; this makes Scotland one of the most ecologically depleted countries in the world.

I am calling for the Scottish Government to declare an ecological emergency. It will help draw attention to the shocking environmental degradation in Scotland and give us something with which to hold the actions of the Government accountable. It will show leadership. But, as with the declaration of a climate emergency last year, simply declaring an ecological emergency is not enough. With this declaration must come the urgent and radical action that an emergency requires.

Scotland’s nature needs us to speak out. So please sign my petition asking the Scottish Government to declare an ecological emergency.