Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio has joined Scottish conservationists in urging ministers to declare the country a wild country.
The American actor shared a message about Rewilding Scotland with his 62.1 million followers on Instagram.
The Alliance, a coalition of more than 20 nature organizations, is urging the Scottish Government to declare the country the first rewilding nation to drive forward the conservation strategy.
The Oscar-winning actor wrote: “Rewilding Scotland is urging the Scottish Government to announce Scotland A rewilding nation committed to restoring 30% of nature on land and sea to benefit nature, climate and people.
“About 6,000 years ago, much of southern Scotland was covered in broadleaf woodland interspersed with dense scrub, heather and bogs.
“In stark contrast, today’s landscape is one of naturally depleted hills, with highly degraded sheep grazing areas (the so-called ‘sheep ruined’ landscape) and large non-native spruce plantations.
“Through this campaign, Scotland can become a world leader in restoring wild landscapes, ensuring clean air and water, storing carbon, reducing flooding, restoring wildlife and improving the lives of local people.”
DiCaprio attends COP26 with The King and Stella McCartney. Image: PA
dicaprio – Who attended COP26 Glasgow As the United Nations representative on climate change, he urged followers to visit links on his social media pages to learn more about the cause.
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The Scottish Government has previously said it is working to unlock the full potential of the restoration project.
Ministers are urged to commit to restoring the natural environment of 30% of the country’s land and sea areas.
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Figures recorded by the alliance show that 2.1% of Scotland’s land is being rewilded, with 150 projects covering at least 160,000 hectares.
But environmental groups warned the project would need to be significantly scaled up to achieve the 30% target.
The Scottish Government has previously said restoring the country’s natural environment is a “key way” to tackle nature loss and climate change.
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A spokesman highlighted its £65m Nature Recovery Fund, to which almost £40m has been committed since 2021.
They added: “The fund supports local businesses to promote nature-based tourism, helps landowners carry out pollinator projects to improve food production, and supports projects to improve green spaces and marine environments across Scotland.
“These projects bring many benefits to rural communities, such as creating new jobs, providing natural flood protection and helping to support the recovery of vulnerable species such as wild salmon.”
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