Why the UK Needs Rewilding
Imagine a world without wildlife—a sterile world. That’s mornings without birdsong, rivers without fish, meadows without colourful splashes of flowers. Biodiversity is crucial for a healthy planet and yet it has been allowed to decline at an alarming rate, estimated as being 1,000 times higher[1] than it should be due to human activity—industrial development, human expansion, general environmental disregard.
Climate change is currently at the forefront of environmental activism efforts due to high-profile side effects, including the forest fires which ravaged Australia, California, and the Amazon. However, biodiversity is integral for the food we eat, the water we drink, and even the air we breathe. And, if it is not maintained at a healthy level, then there is no future for humans on earth.
The plights of exotic species such as elephants, tigers, and polar bears are well-represented in popular culture, but the problem runs even deeper than that. Over 60% of the world’s flora and fauna have been decimated since 1970[2]—that’s as if the entire human population of Asia were to vanish—and yet the severity of this issue is still understated.
Consider the British Isles. They once looked very different. In place of sheep-scattered fields, eroded hillsides, and isolated copses there were once vast forests[3] akin to Alaska’s Tongass, which a multitude of species called home. Since the dawn of agriculture, the trees were chopped down, large predators hunted to extinction, and while we do have plenty of national parks, their ecosystems are currently unable to sustain sufficient quantities of life.[4] In fact, on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) six-point scale—where 1 is analogous to the Amazon Rain Forest, and 6, a multi-storey car park—not a single one of them is above a grade 5.[5] Our future looks bleak. If the UK continues along its current trajectory, it has been determined that our soils on average have a maximum of 100 harvests left.[6]
But it does not have to be this way. Rewilding, one of the proposed solutions, has gained traction in recent years as a way to reverse the anthropogenic damage.[7] There is little consensus about how it would look in the UK, but the term popularly refers to the large-scale restoration of ecosystems. Missing species, usually top predators, are allowed to return and shape the landscape through an ecological ripple effect known as trophic cascades,[8] encouraging a balance between people and nature, where both can thrive. Populations of species such as deer that would otherwise decimate vegetation are reduced and a variety of habitats are thereby restored.
Yellowstone National Park is the main example used by proponents of rewilding. Following the introduction of grey wolves, the deer populations not only reduced, but the deer themselves also changed their behaviour to avoid certain areas like valleys and gorges,[9] allowing the barren landscape to recover and attract species such as birds, beavers, and bears back to the area—a conservation success!
The UK is currently not receptive to large predators due to concerns raised by landowners and the general public, however smaller rewilding efforts are taking place. Trees for Life have been working under the radar for decades to restore forests across Scotland, and the Mid Wales Red Squirrel Project has been running since 2002 to expand the populations and protect the habitats of the beloved mammal.
Knepp Castle Estate in West Sussex, once a farm operating at a loss, is another example of a previously unsupported rewilding effort. Natural processes were allowed to take over the land, with cattle, pigs, deer, and ponies acting as proxies for the herbivores that would have lived there hundreds of years ago, and their different grazing preferences have helped to create a mosaic of habitats, from grassland and scrub, to open-grown trees and wood-pastures. And, in just over a decade, the Knepp Estate has become a breeding hotspot for endangered species, such as the purple emperor butterfly, turtle dove, and nightingale.[10] Local people initially objected to the project due to the changing appearance of the land. Still, the high-profitability of the project, ranging from wildlife safaris to wild-range meat products, has opened a discussion about not only the environmental but also the economic benefits[11] of rewilding the UK.
For trophic rewilding, the lynx is the most viable predator, as they arguably pose no real threat to humans and exhibit low predation tendencies towards farm animals.[12] However, the earlier successful reintroduction of white-tailed eagles to Scottish coastlines highlights the issues with predators raised by British farmers.
White-tailed eagles were wiped out in Scotland a century ago and were last seen in England on Culver Cliff in the Isle of Wight in 1780.[13] In 1985, they were successfully reintroduced to the Isle of Mull and there are now 100 breeding pairs living across Scotland.[14] It has been calculated that, due to this reintroduction, ornithological tourism has boosted the Isle of Mull’s economy by up to £5million.[15] However, their return has also caused problems because they are known to predate on lambs. And, while Scottish Natural Heritage offers compensation, the scheme does not cover farmers’ losses,[16] with increasing numbers of eagles only serving to make this problem worse.
An additional worry is that rewilding and allowing farmland to revert to a natural state will have a negative impact on the already unprofitable rural economy, despite the success of the Knepp Estate. However, areas such as the Welsh Hills and Scottish Highlands have infertile soils, rendering farming efforts unprofitable, and the agriculture as we know it in the UK only survives due to government subsidies. Rewilding offers new and alternative sources of income, which might mean that rural areas could be better off. Through eco-tourism—as seen in the Isle of Mull and Knepp Castle Estate examples—people are likely to frequent areas to observe wild animals, and additional jobs could be created due to the need for local guides, accommodation, and other tourist essentials.
And, even if rewilding does not benefit rural economies, it will still benefit the environment. Trees could return to our barren hillsides, reducing erosion and fertilising the soil. And, along riverbanks, the trees could trap rainwater as seen in Yellowstone, resulting in stabilised river paths and a reduced risk of flooding and drought.
The UK currently has a sanitised landscape, and while there is growing evidence that experiencing nature is good for physical and psychological health, trips abroad and documentaries are as close as most people can get. But this does not have to continue. Rewilding offers an uncharted but unlimited future, and surely instead of biodiversity annihilation, it is an option that is worth exploring?
Recommended Reading: George Monbiot, Feral: Searching for Enchantment on the Frontiers of Rewilding (Penguin Books 2013).
Article tags: | -ism | environmentalism |
Rewilding offers an uncharted but unlimited future, and surely instead of biodiversity annihilation, it is an option that is worth exploring? Image source: Rewilding Britain
It has been calculated that, due to the reintroduction of white-tailed eagles, ornithological tourism has boosted the Isle of Mull’s economy by up to £5million. Image source: Forestry and Land Scotland
Smaller rewilding efforts are taking place in the UK. For example, the Mid Wales Red Squirrel Project has been running since 2002 to expand the populations and protect the habitats of the beloved mammal Image source: National Trust
For trophic rewilding, the lynx is the most viable predator, as they arguably pose no real threat to humans and exhibit low predation tendencies towards farm animals. Image source: Blickwinkel / Alamy Stock Photo
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Sources Cited
[1] Peter Aldhous, ‘We are killing species at 1000 times the natural rate’ (NewScientist, 29 May 2014) <https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25645-we-are-killing-species-at-1000-times-the-natural-rate/> accessed 20 May
[2] Damian Carrington, ‘Humanity has wiped out 60% of animal populations since 1970, report finds’ (The Guardian, 30 October 2018) <https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/30/humanity-wiped-out-animals-since-1970-major-report-finds> accessed 20 May 2020.
[3] Peter Savill, ‘A Brief History of our Forests’ (Future Trees Trust) <http://www.futuretrees.org/about-us/history-of-our-forests/> accessed 22 May 2020.
[4] Erik Solheim, ‘National Parks are not Enough to Protect Nature’ (TIME, 2 September 2016) <https://time.com/4477884/national-parks-conservation/> accessed 24 May 2020.
[5] Lucy Jones, ‘The rewilding plan that would return Britain to nature’ (BBC, 3 June 2015)<http://www.bbc.co.uk/earth/story/20150604-can-we-make-britain-wild-again>
[6] Adam Withnall, ‘Britain has only 100 harvests left in its farm soil as scientists warn of growing “agricultural crisis”’ (Independent, 20 October 2014) <https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/britain-facing-agricultural-crisis-as-scientists-warn-there-are-only-100-harvests-left-in-our-farm-9806353.html> accessed 20 May 2020.
[7] Andrea Perino and others, ‘Rewilding complex ecosystems’ (2019) 364(6438) Science <https://science.sciencemag.org/content/364/6438/eaav5570> accessed 20 May 2020.
[8] William J Ripple, Robert L Beschta and Luke E Painter, ‘Trophic cascades from wolves to alders in Yellowstone’ (2015) 354 Forest Ecology and Management 254, 254.
[9] Kari M Schoenberg, ‘Improving the Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Plan Through Analysis of Successful Reintroduction of Gray Wolves in the Northern United States’ (Unpublished master’s thesis, The Evergreen State College 2012) 18.
[10] ‘Wildlife Successes’ (KNEPP CASTLE ESTATE) <https://knepp.co.uk/the-results/> accessed 22 May 2020.
[11] Sophus O S E zu Ermgassen and others, ‘Ecosystem service responses to rewilding: first-order estimates from 27 years of rewilding in the Scottish Highlands’ (2018) 14 International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services & Management 165, 175.
[12] Daniel Lavelle, ‘The lynx effect: are sheep farmers right to fear for their flocks'?’ (The Guardian, 23 July 2017) <https://www.theguardian.com/environment/shortcuts/2017/jul/23/the-lynx-effect-sheep-farmers-rewilding-beavers-red-kites> accessed 20 May 2020.
[13] ‘White-tailed eagle returns to England’ (BBC, 4 May 2020) <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-52528155> accessed 21 May 2020.
[14] RSPB, ‘White-tailed Eagle project delivers 100 breeding pairs’ (Rare Bird Alert, 2 June 2015) <http://www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/RSPB_White_tailed_Eagle_project_delivers_100_breeding_pairs.aspx?s_id=240365630> accessed 20 May 2020.
[15] Jane Candlish, ‘Five star rating for eagle project’ (The Press and Journal, 30 September 2014) <https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/360930/five-star-rating-for-eagle-project/> accessed 20 May 2020.
[16] ‘White-tailed Eagle Action Plan 2017 - 2020’ (Scottish Natural Heritage, 2019) 6.