WRi research drives policy on Wildland in Scotland again. Debate in the Scottish Parliament on Tues 18th March has resulted in cross-party support for the Core Areas of Wild Land map produced by SNH using methods and approaches original developed by WRi for mapping wildness in Scotland’s national parks. This mapping will form the basis … Read more
Forestry Commission Scotland has just published a report on the state of Scotland’s native woodlands. It has found that only 4% of Scotland is covered in native woodland, with grazing by herbivores shown to be the biggest threat to them. Invasive non-native species such as rhododendron were also found to be important threats locally, with … Read more
Borders Forest Trust has secured possession of 1,832 hectares (4,527 acres) of the Talla and Gameshope estate, in the heart of the Scottish Borders. This new site is larger than all of the BFT existing sites put together, and our first major site within the Borders. The land includes the stunning valley of the Gameshope … Read more
Jonathan Carruthers-Jones has won the Royal Geographical Society’s (with IBG) Planning and Environment Research Group (PERG) prize. The prize is an annual postgraduate award for the best Masters dissertation in environmental planning, policy and governance. Jonathan completed his MSc at the Centre for Mountain Studies part of the University of the Highlands and Islands. … Read more
WRi has responded to SNH’s consultation on their Core Areas of Wild Land (CAWL). The Scottish Government recently consulted on the Main Issues Report for the National Planning Framework 3 and draft Scottish Planning Policy. These proposed a policy approach that refers to Scottish Natural Heritage’s Core Areas of Wild Land 2013 map. This map was drawn … Read more
Former leaders of PAN Parks have set up the European Wilderness Society (EWS) with the aims “to safeguard European wilderness, the continent’s most undisturbed areas of nature for future generation.” The EWS has a developing set of well-resourced web pages that act as a one-stop-shop for anyone interested in wilderness in Europe.
WRi has entered into a Joint Venture Agreement with the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute, Misoula funded by the US Forest Service on the project “Traditional phenological knowledge: Mapping support for case study descriptions of cultural resilience in fire-adapted ecosystems”. The project will last 12 months from June 2013 to June 2104 with $71,000 allocated … Read more
SNH has published today a consultation paper on its Core areas of wild land map. This follows on from the Scottish Government’s consultations earlier this year on the National Planning Framework 3 and Scottish Planning Policy. The consultation runs for 7 weeks and closes on Friday 20 December. Click here to view the consultation paper. … Read more
The area without visual intrusion from obvious built human structures in Scotland has reduced again according to new data published by Scottish Natural Heritage. Most of the new impacts are attributable to wind energy developments. For more information see here.
The draft European Wilderness Register and spatial indicator have been reported in various magazines after it’s launch at WILD10. The work by Alterra (University of Wageningen), WRi and PAN Parks has been report in Geoconnexion (a GIS trade magazine) and Consumer Magazine (Spain). An article by Dr Carver is also due out shortly in the Geographical Association … Read more