As we all saw on Sunday, “Wild Isles” has begun its five-week run on BBC One, showcasing our native wildlife like never before. In this blog, Jason Rose explains the opportunities we at RSPB Scotland see in how to revive our species and restore their habitats.
Sir David Attenborough has started guiding millions of viewers through the spectacular landscapes and habitats that make the UK so special for important species of birds, fish, mammals, insects, and plants.
In the first episode of Wild Isles, we saw orca in Shetland, white-tailed eagles on Islay, and the gannets of the Bass Rock off East Lothian.
The next four episodes will celebrate our woodlands, grasslands, freshwater, and marine habitats.
Puffin stretching its wings. Katie Nethercoat
We really hope this prime-time TV exposure will help drive home the message that while our wildlife is awesome, its future hangs in the balance. Scotland and the UK are among the most nature-depleted countries in the world, but we have a chance to turn things around.
It’s our view that everybody needs to make efforts to ensure that Scotland has strategies in place that will help to restore our biodiversity. This should include actions like setting ambitious and achievable targets for protecting species and restoring our habitats. And it’s not just the big, iconic species that we need to be focussing on. We know from polling data that even amid competing priorities, the public still expects action on nature.
The same applies to the way we farm and produce our food. Many of the farming practices encouraged after the second world war have endured, leading to intensification of production methods which have little consideration of their impact on nature and contribution to climate change. But farming can produce both quality, seasonal food at the same time as benefitting nature and playing its part in addressing the climate crisis. There’s an Agriculture Bill due in the Scottish Parliament this autumn. This is a perfect opportunity to incentivise those kinds of farming that really are good for nature and good for the climate.
Between 1995 and 2020, lapwings and curlews declined by 60%, kestrels by 65% and oystercatchers by 36%. By supporting farmers to plant hedges and trees, create wetlands, and reduce pesticide use, we can transform the fortunes of these species and many others that are struggling .
Holyrood will also soon see a grouse moor and muirburn licensing bill, which will help tackle illegal killings of birds of prey, and keep our peatlands wet, as they should be.
Hen harrier in flight. Mark Thomas
The pressures aren’t unique to our land either. How we use, exploit and regulate our marine environment also impacts hugely on the nature that lives there and the marine habitat itself. Perhaps the most visible indicator of these pressures are our seabirds, ravaged over the last year due to bird flu, on top of existing pressures and threats from invasive rodents eating their eggs, and industrial fishing taking their food. Offshore renewable energy development, principally wind, is the next hurdle they face. There’s a lot in the pipeline, and its deployment must be carefully balanced to ensure that the solution to the climate crisis doesn’t exacerbate the symptom. There is an opportunity to ensure that the pursuit of net zero must also delivers positive and transformative outcomes for nature, helping to restore what has been lost.
Back in 2017, millions of us were heartbroken at images of albatrosses feeding plastic to their chicks. Wild Isles’ predecessor, Blue Planet II, was widely hailed for sparking public concern about plastics. Research at the time showed that nine out of ten people who watched the programme changed their behaviour as a result. Businesses and leaders took note, with manufacturers and retailers reducing packaging, and our legislation being introduced that banned the some single-use plastics.
Let’s hope Wild Isles similarly energises all of our efforts to save our species.
Main image: A great yellow bumblebee on a thistle. Colin Campbell