A bit of hope in 2016

2016 has been short on good news, and I have been a bit despondent of late. Luckily this little fellow arrived in the post on Friday, to remind me that not everything has been a disaster this year.  I’ve called him (unoriginally)  Justin.

Justin Beaver

To recap: a while back beavers were found on the River Otter in Devon – the first wild beavers in England for centuries. At first the government wanted to get rid of them, citing the chance they may harbour parasites as the reason. But Devon Wildlife Trust, with the support of local landowners and residents,  persuaded the government to let them monitor the beavers and the effect they have in a trial, before making any final decisions. The beavers were trapped, had health checks, and re-released back on the River Otter.

Tree gnawed by beavers on the River Otter

Local shop displays support for the Devon beavers

This year Devon Wildlife Trust have been crowd funding to cover the costs of the trial. I donated a while back, and Justin is my reward. The timing of his arrival is good, as I had just found out that two pairs of beavers have successfully bred on the River Otter this year, one having two kits, and the other five.

I’m intrigued to see how the trial goes. Beavers, like humans, shape the landscape they live in. Chopping down trees, creating lakes and changing the course of rivers. I got to see some of the effect they were having when I visited the River Otter. There’s evidence that the changes beavers make may benefit other species, and reduce flooding downstream. But can we learn to live with a species that can make such dramatic changes in a short time?

Fresh growth from beaver-felled tree

If the trial is successful, it will give me hope that native species we have driven to the brink of extinction may, one day, make a comeback. If Devon Wildlife Trust can’t raise sufficient funds to cover the cost of the trial to 2020, the beavers will have to be rehomed in captivity. I hope it succeeds, and one day I will see a beaver in the wild. If you’d like more info, or to donate to the crowd funding appeal, visit SupportDevonsBeavers.org

Advertisement

Rewilding: a utopian vision?

Up til now, I haven’t done much thinking about the idea of rewilding. The idea of returning large swathes of land to a state of wilderness, and reintroducing apex predators to help manage that biodiversity, instinctively appeals to me. I love the thought that lynx may, one day, roam free in Britain. That we may, one day, have wild spaces which nature manages, rather than man. That the balance between humans and wildlife is shifted to a more equitable arrangement. But is it too impractical to ever take place?

Last week I heard a fascinating talk from Peter Smith, one of the founders of the Wildwood Trust, and a keen proponent of the idea of rewilding. The talk is available to view on YouTube. It’s long, but I urge you to watch it.

I won’t try to repeat all his points here – you can listen to them for yourself. Instead, I’ll just share some of the things that struck me from his talk.

1. Focus on the economic argument: conservationists are unlikely to convince politicians, businesses or even the general population about such a radical idea as rewilding by focusing on the ecological benefits. Peter Smith’s talk had a large focus on the economic case for rewilding. For example, he argues that rewilding would more than pay for itself through the flood prevention benefits it would provide.
2. Reintroducing some species will lead to benefits for many others. For example, beavers create the right sort of habitats for a whole range of species, including water voles, otters, molluscs and bats. Reintroducing pine martens could help red squirrels. And Surrey would be a good place to reintroduce pine martens, as it has the right sort of habitat – lots of well connected woodlands.
3. There is enough space: rewilding will require large areas of land. On a crowded island like ours, that can seem completely unfeasible. But looking into our land use reveals potential. In England, more land area is used for golf courses than for homes. And, throughout the UK, much of the land that is being farmed is unproductive land that would never be farmed if it weren’t for the perverse incentives of subsidies. Peter Smith argues that we don’t need to farm that land – we can feed ourselves without it.

He also presents some interesting ideas on how the taxation system needs to move away from taxing income to taxing land, to bring an end to a system that incentivises purchase of machinery rather than hiring of labour.

Rewilding is a wonderful, visionary idea. But will it ever come to pass? The trouble, as Peter Smith admits, is that the people who benefit from the current system, and have most to lose from the changes needed to bring about rewilding at a large scale, are the people with the most power. A massive proportion of our land is in the hands of a small number of people who make a large amount of money from the status quo.