Defining rewilding for Scotland's public sector: research findings

1. Introduction

This chapter summarises the context that has informed the work reported here, and the structure of the report. The purpose of this work has been to propose a definition of rewilding that is suitable for use by Scotland's public sector.

Background to this report

In the last few years it has become common to hear rewilding mentioned in Scotland's media, as a label for some types of nature-oriented land management. However, rewilding is a very new term: a decade ago the term was rarely used anywhere in Scotland. As a result, there is not always a clear or shared understanding of what it implies. A shared understanding of the term could help Scotland's public sector to navigate the ongoing debate and practices linked to this term.

This report is part of wider research commissioned by the Scottish Government into the socio-economic impacts of 'green' land investment in rural Scotland, which included a task on rewilding. The purpose of this task is to propose a working definition of 'rewilding' that is suitable for use by the public sector in Scotland.

To achieve this, the authors of this report carried out an evidence review of key 'Rewilding' concepts and definitions with a specific focus on the Scottish context. This informed the design of a deliberative workshop, to which we invited representatives from Scotland's public sector together with other experts, to discuss how to define rewilding.

Structure of this report

The chapter that follows describes the methodology used by this study, which involved an evidence review, followed by a workshop informed by that review. Chapters 3 and 4 then set out the main findings of the evidence review and workshop in detail. This is followed by a chapter which proposes a definition of rewilding for Scotland's public sector. Lastly, Chapter 6 sets out the conclusions, and identifies implications and recommendations for future activities and use of the term 'rewilding' – and other related terms – for the well-being of nature and society in Scotland.

The references section provides further sources of information (academic papers, books, reports, webpages) that are cited in the main text in the form "(Smith et al, 2022)". Additionally, weblinks are embedded in the text for organisational websites. The report is followed by annexes which provide more information on workshop participants and the methodology, and excerpts from others' illustrations of how rewilding can be related to other concepts.