This is one of the few rare pockets
of wilderness left in the UK: a wetland in Cornwall where beavers,
reintroduced in 2017, managed to reshape an intact ecosystem. Elsewhere in England
at West Blean woods, these European bison
are waiting for their release in 2022. Their mission is to function
as ecosystem engineers and hence allow other species to thrive. Recently, the support to reintroduce
wolves to the Scottish Highlands rose in order to reverse
decades of environmental damage. On an island
so overpopulated by humans, is it possible that
a huge rewilding movement could restore lost ecosystems? In the past,
the UK was full of wilderness and home to brown bears,
lynx and wolves, all of which are now
extinct in the country. Meanwhile, around 70% of the UK's
land area is used for agriculture, which has decimated
large parts of the ecosystem. Yet agriculture only employs
1.5% of the UK's workforce and contributes around 0.5% to its GDP. This juxtaposition
has led many to question whether the UK's land area
is being used effectively. Forecasts suggest that in the period
between 2015 and 2030, about 11% of agricultural land in Europe will have a high risk
of abandonment by farmers, leaving behind large areas
of unused land. In recent years, this inspired a growing
rewilding movement across the UK. Originally, the concept of rewilding
was associated with the restoration of large connected wilderness areas that support wide ranging keystone species and apex predators like the great wolf. Since then, three broad forms of
rewilding have been distinguished. Passive or ecological rewilding focuses
on letting nature take care of itself, enabling natural processes
to shape the ecosystem. Like here in Oostvaardersplassen
in the Netherlands where animals graze free
and totally unassisted by humans. Translocation or trophic rewilding
is a more active approach, which involves
the reintroduction of species that were native to
the area in recent history. The presence of a keystone species
like the Iberian lynx in Spain helps to restore missing
or dysfunctional ecosystem processes. Pleistocene rewilding introduces
descendants of megafauna species that disappeared after a mass extinction towards the end of the last Ice Age,
120000 years ago. This happened unintentionally
around Pablo Escobar’s private zoo, on his seized
estate in Colombia. This form of rewilding
is largely disputed as it bears a high chance
of uncertain impacts due to the potential risks
connected to the introduction of a completely foreign species
into an ecosystem. In 2017, Chris and Janet Jones
from Woodland Valley Farm brought Eurasian beavers
back to Cornwall in an attempt to transform
their farm into a biodiversity hotspot. Having the beavers
has been an absolute delight, because they're constantly working, either building a dam,
cutting down trees or building a lodge. There's always something going on. Any day of the week,
it's a bit different from the day before. Beavers have been dubbed
the ultimate environmental engineers, capable of alleviating flooding and sparking new life
into barren wilderness. Through their dams, the landscape
has been restored dramatically for a fraction of the cost
of other methods. Biodiversity has increased hugely
in the wetlands. Elsewhere in the UK, another promising
trophic rewilding project is underway in West Blean woods in East Kent, with the re-introduction
of European bison. Large herbivores like bison
graze in very unique ways. They kill selected trees
by chewing their bark or rubbing up against them
to remove molting fur This generates deadwood and
allows light to reach the woodland floor, providing a three dimensional habitat
for other species. They also create large sandpits
through their dust bathing, which clears densely packed vegetation
to form wildlife corridors. These are all of the active
rewilding projects across the UK which serve as an inspiration
for other landowners to consider a more
nature based approach. The concept first gained
mainstream appeal following its success in North America's
Yellowstone National Park. In 1995, Yellowstone National Park
famously reintroduced gray wolves after an absence of over 70 years. The project proved that
when you take away the large animals, you are left with
a radically different ecosystem. By reintroducing the wolves,
deer populations fell, but much more significantly,
they changed their behavior on the land. This allowed
vegetation to recover, which changed
the geography of the rivers, creating optimum habitats
for a variety of species to return entirely on their own. Beavers, built dams that created habitats
for otters and ducks. The wolves also killed
some of the coyotes, which led to an increase
in rabbits and mice, bringing back other predators. This phenomenon
is known as trophic cascade. The process by which
the activity of an apex predator at the top of the food chain stimulates the growth
of several other animal species and enriches biodiversity. As the rewilding movement
in the UK continues to grow, many have called
for the reintroduction of wolves to the Scottish Highlands. In 2003, Paul Lyster
bought a 23,000-acre estate in the Central Highlands and
called it Alladale Wilderness Reserve. He planted more than 900,000 trees, boosted red squirrel populations, protected salmon
and created a Scottish wildcat habitat. However, he still faced
a booming red deer population, which was threatening
his replanting efforts by eating the young tree shoots
before they could mature. To combat the problem, Lister is seeking permission
to bring wolves over from Sweden to kickstart a trophic cascade
on his reserve. Currently, he still waits for approval
from the Scottish Highlands Trust. The main resistance comes
from local farmers and landowners who are worried about
their livestock and personal safety, as well as the proud legacy
of Scotland's "right to roam" laws. These state that anyone
can access any land, regardless of whether it's
privately owned or not. The fear is that wolf reintroduction
could prompt many to erect fences in an attempt to protect livestock or to contain the wolves. Despite Lister's requests
currently being at a standstill, recent government changes to agriculture
provide a source of hope. Various schemes are now in place
to subsidize landowners to regenerate soil health,
restore native woodlands and find methods
to sequester more carbon. With a plethora of success stories
from around Europe, there is a real hope
that this cultural shift in the UK can have a profound positive impact. So, let’s return
to the visualization of a wild UK. If we choose to, we can restore
our depleted lands to diverse, thriving
ecosystems once more. By exploring new areas
of economic growth, we can enrich the lives of humans,
plants and animals for generations to come. Above all, what rewilding
ultimately offers is hope. A hope that around the world
people can reconnect with nature, driving more change makers who are willing to love
and defend it at all costs.
