Rewilding Scotland: Three quarters of Scots want to see wilder national parks

A new poll has found three quarters of Scots want to see wilder national parks – and more efforts to restore nature.

In an opinion poll for the Scottish Rewilding Alliance, carried out by market research agency Survation, 74 per cent of Scots agreed with the call to make national parks wilder, with just 6 per cent of people opposed.

The poll, in which 1,033 people were interviewed, found the majority of Scots backed recommendations by the Scottish Government’s nature agency NatureScot. These recommendations in February advised ministers to create wilder national parks and introduce legislation that would make restoring nature and combating climate change the overarching purpose of Scotland’s national parks.

The Scottish Rewilding Alliance has echoed calls for the Government to implement recommendations to combat nature and climate emergencies with areas devoted to rewilding and accelerate climate change action that is urgently required.

A new poll has found that three quarters of Scots want to see wilder national parks – and more efforts to restore nature.

Steve Micklewright, vonvenor of the Scottish Rewilding Alliance and chief executive of rewilding charity Trees for Life, said: “We’re urging the Government to listen to its nature agency and the Scottish people, and make nature recovery a primary purpose of our national parks.

“This would ensure these important areas can make a greater contribution to Scotland becoming the world’s first rewilding nation – a place where nature and people can thrive – and in achieving the Government’s commitment to protect 30 per cent of Scotland for nature by 2030.”

He added: “Our national parks have the potential to be at the forefront of restoring functioning, thriving eco-systems in Scotland, a country that is currently one of the most nature-depleted in the whole world.

“Wilder national parks would provide more opportunities for people to live and work in them, including through more sustainable livelihoods, while visitors would be able to enjoy seeing more of Scotland’s remarkable wildlife and habitats as species and landscapes begin to recover.”

The Scottish Rewilding Alliance is a collaboration of more than 20 organisations, which share a mission to enable rewilding at a scale new to Scotland. See www.rewild.scot.

Scotland’s two existing national parks were declared more than 20 years ago. Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park was established in 2002 with the Cairngorms National Park, established in 2003 and extended in 2010.