People who enjoy the diverse nature and landscape across West Dunbartonshire are being urged to press for new environmental protections in Scotland.

A total of 35 charities across Scotland have formed a group called “Fight for Scotland’s Nature” and they are gathering support for the creation of a Scottish Environment Act.

They say this is necessary because the prospect of Brexit threatens to unravel a set of critical environmental protections at a time when one in 11 species in Scotland is at risk of extinction.

EU protections have played a major role in protecting and enhancing Scotland’s natural environment by setting clear objectives for legislation, providing funding mechanisms and a variety of routes to ensure implementation.

Fight for Scotland’s Nature said: “We cannot afford to be left behind EU and global partners.

“This is why we need a Scottish Environment Act to set clear ambitions for our own environmental policy and set us in a clear trajectory towards a more sustainable future.”

The Scottish Government is currently seeking views on the future of environmental protections, but the group wants it to go further.

The group has launched a petition urging people to tell the Scottish Government the country needs an Act to protect its land, seas and wildlife.

The call is being backed by Ramblers Scotland, whose director Jess Dolan said: “Right now, without mitigation, the prospect of Brexit threatens to burst our walking bubble – with damaging results that could impact upon our cherished landscapes.”

Writing in The Great Outdoors Magazine, she said: “With 80 per cent of Scotland’s environmental protections coming via the EU, there is a long-term threat to the special places that walkers hold most dear. At times EU environment laws can seem distant and impenetrable.

“Yet they translate into the tangible measures that safeguard our wildlife, woodlands and coasts.”

You can sign the petition by going to fightforscotlandsnature.scot/e-action/.