Meeting of the Parliament 08 November 2016
I thank Graeme Dey for bringing the debate to the chamber and for his work in promoting the species champion initiative in this and the previous parliamentary session. I am pleased to be speaking in support of the bog sun-jumper spider and the species champion initiative as a whole.
Although the bog sun-jumper spider is just 3mm long, the importance of this tiny creature to my constituency cannot be overstated, so I thank Buglife for making me aware of its plight. As members might expect, the little beauty makes its home in the peat bogs that are a unique part of our natural heritage. I am proud to say that, of the five peat bogs where the spider can be found in Scotland, two are in my Falkirk East constituency.
In my role as the species champion for that spider, I had the chance a few weeks ago to visit a newly restored peat bog on the Slamannan plateau, which will serve as a site in which endangered peat-bog species such as the bog sun-jumper spider can live and thrive. Sadly, we did not manage to find any on the day that I visited, which might suggest that they are more endangered than we had originally thought, but I hope that there is a squad of them marching towards the Slamannan plateau as we speak.
It is opportune that the debate is being held on the same day as the ministerial statement on unconventional oil and gas, because originally there were concerns that exploitation of coal-bed methane in my constituency, particularly on Letham moss near Airth, where much of the activity was taking place and where the bog sun-jumper spider lives, was going to affect seriously the spider’s habitat. With coal-bed methane extraction suspended thanks to the moratorium on fracking, the little bog sun-jumper spider is being given a reprieve and the opportunity to go forth and multiply.
Preserving biodiversity through initiatives such as the species champion programme highlights the importance of protections for endangered species of all types, from little spiders to Ruth Maguire’s hedgehogs and Gail Ross’s red squirrels, which are found in a broad range of habitats across Scotland.
I do not have time to go into the benefits of peatland restoration, but the issue has been well rehearsed at the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee, and its predecessor Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment committee, which had a peatland restoration champion in its convener—the moss boss, himself: the well-respected retired MSP Rob Gibson.
The species champion initiative is a source of positive action for not just the sponsored species, but their habitats, the citizens of Scotland and even the broader global community. If members have not already done so, they should sign up for the species champion initiative at the Parliament event on Thursday.