Government urged to commit to rewilding 30% of Britain’s land and seas by 2030

Charity Rewilding Britain is also urging the new Labour Government to expand nature-based jobs and businesses, boost access to nature for people to benefit health and well-being, empower communities to lead the way with rewilding, and create a “game-changing” shift in rewilding funding and investment.

The call comes on the back of polling of more than 2,200 people by YouGov for Rewilding Britain which suggests that more than eight in 10 people (83%) support rewilding, a slight increase on 81% in polling in 2021.

The polling, carried out shortly before the general election, also found that three-quarters of people (75%) thought politicians should be doing more to reverse the decline of nature in Britain.

The figures showed 28% of those quizzed supported up to 10% of the country’s land being rewilded, a further 22% backed 11-20% rewilding and 12% wanted to see 21-30% of the land given over to rewilding.

According to Rewilding Britain, rewilding is the large-scale restoration of nature to the point it can take care of itself, by bringing back habitats and natural processes and, where appropriate, reintroducing lost species such as beavers.

It has proved controversial in some quarters, amid concerns it is switching land away from food production, but supporters say rewilded land can also produce food such as free-range meat, provide jobs and boost the local economy through ecotourism.

Rewilding Britain points to an increase in jobs at projects within its “rewilding network” of nearly 1,000 schemes across Britain.

Full-time equivalent jobs across 13 major rewilding projects in Scotland increased from 24 before rewilding began to 123, including at Trees For Life’s 4,000-hectare Dundreggan estate, where new jobs include specialised tree nursery staff, volunteer co-ordinators and roles running the Rewilding Centre.

And in England and Wales, jobs across 50 sites increased from 162 to 312, the charity said.

For example at Knepp Wildland in West Sussex, jobs increased from 24 pre-rewilding to 96, including new roles in communications, education and retail.

Rewilding Britain’s chief executive Rebecca Wrigley also said the kind of land the charity envisaged for rewilding was either highly marginal farmland or grouse-shooting or deerstalking estates – and could still produce food.

Rewilded land could also produce timber and other products, while there was evidence that fully-protected marine areas created a “spill-over effect” with the boost to wildlife increasing the productivity of surrounding seas, she said.

Ms Wrigley warned that farming was increasingly being hit by climate change and nature declines.

“We would like to see rewilding recognised and seen as a viable, productive use of the land and sea in facing the challenges of the 21st century,” she said.

“If you look at the productivity, of course it’s food production, but we also need to mitigate climate breakdown, we need to restore ecosystems so they can support food production, we need to mitigate against flooding, we need to address health and well-being.”

She said rewilded land’s ability to deliver on those challenges made it a viable and productive use of land, and that those doing it should be rewarded.

Ms Wrigley called on the Government to set the 30% target to send a signal on the direction of travel, for land managers to have confidence to adopt rewilding, and for the planned land-use framework to recognise rewilding as a valid, productive use of land.

She also said there was a need for a blend of public and private finance for rewilding.

Kevin Cumming, rewilding director at Rewilding Britain, said: “It’s now getting to a stage where it is becoming impossible to ignore the benefits rewilding can bring.

“Every result we see is showing growth: more people support rewilding; more people are doing rewilding – our Rewilding Network has exceeded all its growth targets by 20% since it was launched in 2021.

“And rewilding is creating jobs at an unprecedented level. With proper government support, there’s no telling what further benefits rewilding could bring to all of Britain.”

The UK has committed to protecting 30% of land and seas for nature by 2030, but conservationists have warned that only a fraction of that is truly protected for nature, with designations such as national parks focused on planning rather than wildlife.

A Defra spokesperson said: “Britain’s nature is in crisis, which is why we have wasted no time in announcing a rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan to make sure it is fit for purpose to deliver legally binding targets and halt the decline in species by 2030.

“This will honour our existing international commitment to protect 30% of the UK’s land and sea by 2030, whilst also improving access to nature for all by creating nine new national river walks and three new national forests.”