The Scottish Rewilding Alliance is a collaboration between different organisations who share the same mission - to help rewilding in Scotland. It is made up of more than 20 organisations and is supported by actors Brian Cox and Leonardo Di Caprio and it aims to work in partnership with landowners, communities, interest groups and the government to support nature.
Its 'rewilding nation' campaign, launched at the beginning of December, wants the Scottish Government to commit to nature recovery across 30% of the country's land and seas. Steve Micklewight, co-convener of the alliance and chief executive of Trees for Life said "Rewilding 30% of Scotland can be achieved by restoring habitats including peatlands, native woodlands, wetlands, rivers and seas while maintaining and benefiting productive farmland.
“This would help tackle the nature and climate emergencies while creating a wealth of benefits for people including jobs, health, sustainable food, clean air and water, re-peopling, and thriving communities.”
The campaign coincides with the publication of the Scottish Biodiversity Delivery Plan 2024-30. Whilst the Scottish Rewilding Alliance welcomed the plan and were encouraged by the Government's recognition that ecosystems need to be ecologically connected, the Alliance said it fell short of specifically planning for rewilding and unlocking its true potential despite the fact that there are currently over 150 reqilding projects ongoing in Scotland.
The Alliance does acknowledge however that the Diversity Plan will allow more rewilding to take place, but "the legal structures around rewilding, its funding and its place in the government's nature strategy remain unclear". This is why the Alliance is keen to present their rewilding plan to the Scottish Government and ask it to commit to restoring nature across 30% of Scotland and become the first 'rewilding nation'.
Actor Brian Cox wrote a letter to the Guardian about the plan. He said "Scotland’s broken natural processes undermine our ability to cope with climate breakdown, affect food production and threaten our health.
"But there is hope. Scots are modest, so shouting about our achievements doesn’t come naturally. But we should be proud of our rewilding progress. We now have more than 150 rewilding projects across the country. Hundreds of people are working to put things right again.
"Thousands more know that rewilding can transform Scotland’s future for the better. Look to Mull, where the island’s inhabitants are reviving their flagging woodlands. My appeal to readers is to stand with your fellow Scots and support the Rewilding Nation Charter – urging the Scottish government to declare Scotland the world’s first rewilding nation, together with urgent action to make it so."
