Statement: Scotland can be a world leader when it comes to restoring and rewilding our natural environment

Scotland can be a world leader when it comes to restoring and rewilding our natural environment

We welcome the publication of the Scottish Biodiversity Delivery Plan 2024 - 30. This is the result of a huge amount of hard work by the government and stakeholders, and the beginning of - we hope - a national effort to address the nature crisis. 

We are heartened by the government’s recognition that ecosystems need to be ecologically connected. This is at the heart of rewilding: giving nature more space in a vast, interconnected network of flourishing habitats. We also welcome the acknowledgement that restoring nature will drive a sustainable economy and support thriving communities.

Rewilding is the unseen root system supporting the government’s plans for nature.

The Scottish Government’s own definition of rewilding recognises that the end goal is to achieve more resilient and autonomous ecosystems by working with local communities. A growing body of research tells us the many benefits of rewilding, including enhancing traditional conservation, helping us adapt to climate change - both now and in an uncertain future - and providing good green jobs. 

However, the absence of rewilding from the Scottish Government’s Biodiversity Delivery Plan suggests that key decision makers have yet to grasp the true potential of rewilding, the extent of its popularity, or how it is blossoming and delivering real benefits for people and communities across Scotland.

There are over 150 rewilding projects flourishing across Scotland. The rewilding movement is a growing groundswell of hope across the nation. Many of the actions identified in the Scottish Biodiversity Delivery Plan will enable 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 undermines action to meaningfully address the nature crisis. 

As we have seen, 80% of people in Scotland want their government to take positive action to support rewilding and ensure we all have the opportunity to share in its benefits, including jobs, health, sustainable food, clean air and water, and thriving communities. This year, thousands of people from all walks of life have shared their hopes and dreams for a wilder Scotland with us by signing the Rewilding Nation Charter.

Rewilders across Scotland stand ready to help create the Rewilding Nation. We believe that Scotland can be a world leader when it comes to restoring and rewilding our natural environment. 

Next week, we will present our pathway to a Rewilding Nation to the Scottish Government and ask ministers to commit to restoring nature across 30% of Scotland’s land and seas.