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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment

Support rewilding to save Scotland’s natural resources

Woodland regenerating along glacial valley, Glen Mhor, Alladale Wilderness Reserve, Sutherland, Scotland
Woodland regenerating along the glacial valley of Glen Mhor, in Alladale Wilderness Reserve, Sutherland. Photograph: Nature Picture Library/Alamy

Scotland is full of places I love: Dundee, where I grew up; Shetland, where we filmed the TV series of the same name; and Mull – my favourite island. It has world-class scenery and wonderful people. But we can’t get away from the facts. And the fact is that Scotland is one of the planet’s most nature-depleted countries. Centuries of overexploiting its natural resources have left us with somewhere that looks beautiful, but is dwindling day by day.

This fails our hills, glens and rivers. It fails the animals we share our land and seas with. We’ve upset nature’s balance. That has a terrible impact on wildlife, but also on us. Scotland’s broken natural processes undermine our ability to cope with climate breakdown, affect food production and threaten our health.

But there is hope. Scots are modest, so shouting about our achievements doesn’t come naturally. But we should be proud of our rewilding progress. We now have more than 150 rewilding projects across the country. Hundreds of people are working to put things right again.

Thousands more know that rewilding can transform Scotland’s future for the better. Look to Mull, where the island’s inhabitants are reviving their flagging woodlands. My appeal to readers is to stand with your fellow Scots and support the Rewilding Nation Charter – urging the Scottish government to declare Scotland the world’s first rewilding nation, together with urgent action to make it so.
Brian Cox
London

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