Item 2 is post-legislative scrutiny of biodiversity and biodiversity reporting duties. I welcome our participants and thank them for coming along this morning.
The purpose of the evidence-taking session is to hear directly from stakeholders on the extent to which they consider that the biodiversity and reporting duties that have been placed on public bodies have been successful and what improvements, if any, could be made.
We want the discussion to be free flowing, so you are welcome to ask questions of each other. However, we still want some structure, so please indicate to me or the clerks if you want to contribute. Your microphone will be activated automatically, so there is no need for you to touch the console.
I ask that all MSPs and participants introduce themselves briefly before we begin. I will start. I am a member for the North East Scotland region, and I am the committee convener.