Money set aside for restoring nature is to be diverted into funding wage settlements in Scotland’s local authorities.
BBC Scotland News understands that ministers have written to councils telling them to divert the current year’s allocations from the Nature Restoration Fund to settle pay deals.
The fund is worth £29.2m although the cash is split between councils and the Scottish government’s nature agency Nature Scot.
The Scottish government has been approached for comment.
The money is used to pay for local projects to tackle the nature emergency, ranging from tree planting to restoring waterways.
It is estimated that one in nine species in Scotland is under threat of extinction because of long-term habitat loss and ministers have said restoring biodiversity is “crucial” in tackling the climate crisis.
Last week Finance Secretary Shona Robison said that spending constraints were “unavoidable” because of the “spending challenges” being faced.
Anne McCall, director of RSPB Scotland, said: “This is desperately bad news.
“Recently published analysis has shown that funding for nature needs to increase, not be cut. Scotland is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world, coming 28th from the bottom of 240, and this trend is continuing.
“The Nature Restoration Fund has been critical in helping to deliver projects right across rural and urban Scotland, generating employment and bringing benefits to people, economy, biodiversity and nature.”
She added: “The short and long-term consequences of this action will be keenly felt both now and into the future.|”
She said repeated surveys had shown that the Scottish public wanted nature restoration to be given more prominence in government decision-making.
“Yet they are once again being sold short and having to settle for choices which put nature restoration low on the list of priorities,” she said.
