Defining rewilding for Scotland's public sector: research findings

2. Methodology

Our methodology comprised two stages. Firstly, we undertook a literature review: a range of academic and non-academic sources were used to understand evolving definitions and debates around rewilding, and any existing uses of the term by the public sector. Secondly, we carried out a workshop with 26 governmental, academic and public sector stakeholders to debate and identify a suitable definition of 'rewilding' for use by the Scottish public sector.

Literature review methodology

In January to March 2023 we reviewed the academic and grey literature on rewilding to identify key sources and themes in the evolving cross-disciplinary debate.

The review of academic sources was based on searching for 'rewilding' as a keyword on Web of Science and Google Scholar, and by following patterns of citations. Over 100 papers were reviewed: Chapter 3 references sources that are particularly influential, recent and relevant to Scotland. We also consulted webpages by proponents of rewilding, and webpages and media websites where rewilding is discussed. The search for these webpages was carried out using 'rewilding' as a keyword in Google, and in Google News.

To understand the ways in which the public sector in Scotland refers to and understands the term 'rewilding', a key word search was carried out across the domain "gov.scot" and for several Scottish statutory and public sector organisations: Nature Scot, Cairngorms National Park Authority, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Scottish Land Commission, South of Scotland Enterprise, Scottish Enterprise and Marine Scotland. We also looked for uses of the term by the public sector in other UK administrations. The results of this search demonstrated that the term is generally very rarely used, so we also looked at the use of related terms, notably 'restoration' and 'regeneration'.

Workshop methodology

Following the evidence review, we designed a workshop to debate and identify a definition of rewilding suitable for Scotland's public sector. The workshop had a particular focus on exploring the suitability of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Rewilding Thematic Group's proposed definition (see Chapter 3). The workshop was held online, on 17th April 2023.

There were 26 participants in addition to the facilitators. Invitations had been targeted at Scotland's public sector, and especially those agencies and departments whose work relates to nature management, ranging from teams working on biodiversity policy through to heritage, land use and land reform. A number of other participants were also present from academia, environmental non-governmental organisations (eNGOs)and other UK public sector administrations. The full list of participants and their affiliations can be found in Annex 1.

The workshop began with a presentation from the co-chairs of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Rewilding Thematic Group, communicating the definition of 'rewilding' that they have produced, and the steps taken to produce this, followed by a wider discussion. Participants were then grouped into small groups in separate 'virtual rooms', each with a facilitator, and asked to discuss three questions:

1. Is the IUCN definition suitable for Scotland? (Why? Why not? How adapt?)

2. Are other concepts seen as related, or preferred? (Why? When?)

3. Why and when it may be useful to refer to rewilding?

The full workshop agenda can be found in Annex 2.