Understanding our land: a new national picture of biodiversity mass across NHS Scotland

Commissioned by the Scottish Government, on behalf of the NHS Scotland Climate Emergency and Sustainability Strategy, and delivered in partnership between NatureScot, Public Services Delivery Scotland and Aecom, the national report and the accompanying local board reports for NHS Scotland’s 14 Territorial boards, will help to:

• support more strategic estate planning and management
• guide biodiversity protection and enhancement
• enable boards to plan with greater confidence for climate resilience and natural capital
• strengthen the link between environmental stewardship and population health

“The NHS Scotland estate is one of our greatest national assets. By understanding the land we care for in greater detail, we are putting ourselves in a much stronger position to protect biodiversity, strengthen climate resilience and enhance the health and wellbeing benefits that nature can provide – for patients, staff and communities alike.”

Julie Critchley, Director of NHS Scotland Assure

A clearer, shared understanding of our estate

The collection of these reports will help show a much clearer picture of where biodiversity value already exists, and where there is real potential to do more to support nature – particularly within our more built and urban environments.

Highlights include:

• Several areas of significant biodiversity value across the NHS Estate, including deciduous and wet woodland (22ha) which are included in the Scottish Biodiversity List of Priority Habitats. 
• Trees and woodlands on the NHS estate capture over 1000 tonnes of carbon per year at a value of almost £40,000. The carbon sequestered is the equivalent of taking 900 cars off roads each year. 
• Vegetated land currently provides nearly £10,000 of flood regulation benefits per year and there are big opportunities to manage more of the NHS estate as wetlands, helping to reduce flooding in local communities. 
• Large areas of mown grassland on the NHS estate of low biodiversity value, but with the potential to be managed as wildflower meadows, providing more benefits for people and pollinators.

“Not many people will realise that the total NHS Scotland estate covers an area equivalent to almost the size of the city of Stirling. That’s approximately over 2,000 football pitches.

That scale gives NHS Scotland a powerful opportunity to care for nature in a way that supports health, wellbeing and climate resilience, alongside the services they deliver every day.”

Peter Rawcliffe, Head of People and Places at Nature Scot

Building on the initial greenspace data published earlier this year, this shared, consistent evidence base gives NHS Scotland a more detailed national understanding of where nature and biodiversity exist.