A NEW law obliging large landowners to publish plans for increasing biodiversity represents a “big step” towards Scotland becoming the world’s first “Rewilding Nation”, campaigners have said.
MSPs agreed this week to create the law as part of the new Land Reform Bill which will require owners of holdings over 1000 hectares to set out how they are boosting biodiversity as well as adapting to climate breakdown.
They will also have to lay out how they are complying with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, the code of practice on deer management, and contributing towards net-zero emissions.
The final stage of voting on the Land Reform Bill will take place on Wednesday evening.
The Scottish Rewilding Alliance has campaigned for the change as part of its "rewilding nation" campaign and says Scotland’s largest landholdings have a “pivotal role” to play in repairing the country’s biodiversity.
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Steve Micklewright, co-convenor of the Scottish Rewilding Alliance, and chief executive of Trees for Life which owns the 4000-hectare Dudreggan estate near Loch Ness, said: “This new law represents a big step towards Scotland becoming the world’s first rewilding nation.
“How land is managed is a key part of tackling climate breakdown and reversing biodiversity loss – and in Scotland, where land ownership is highly concentrated, large landholdings have a key role in repairing Scotland’s ecosystems.
“Ensuring that large estates set out their plans to restore nature is vital. Rewilding – large-scale restoration of ecosystems and natural processes – offers hope for tackling the nature and climate emergencies and creates a cascade of benefits for people.”
The change to the bill was proposed in Parliament by Green MSP Ariane Burgess who received cross-party support.
There are 1810 landholdings in Scotland over 1000 hectares. Some landholdings are already restoring nature at scale, but currently the lack of land management plans laying this out makes data collection difficult.
While celebrating the success, the Scottish Rewilding Alliance says that with Scotland being one of the world’s most nature-depleted countries in the world, the Scottish Government needs to be more ambitious going forward.
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It said this includes putting in place support and funding to enable large landowners to restore biodiversity.
Although the Scottish government is committed to protecting at least 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030, just 2.5% of Scotland’s land is currently rewilding – with current rates of increase meaning it will take 65 years before major nature restoration is underway across 30% of the country.
The Scottish Rewilding Alliance is calling on the Scottish Government to declare Scotland the world’s first rewilding nation, bringing in bold legislation to support the practice.
The "rewilding nation" campaign has been backed by thousands of celebrities including Scottish actors Brian Cox and Alan Cumming, Scottish musician Nathan Evans and Hollywood A-lister Leonardo DiCaprio.
Polling has shown becoming a rewilding nation is supported by more than 80% of the Scottish public.
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