Succession star Brian Cox backs calls for Scotland to become first ‘rewilding nation’

Scottish actor Brian Cox has backed calls for Scotland to be declared the first ‘Rewilding Nation’ in the world.

The Succession star is urging people to support the Scottish Rewilding Alliance’s Rewilding Nation Charter, which calls on the Scottish Government to commit to nature recovery across 30% of the country’s land and seas.

In a letter published in The Guardian last month, the Dundee-born actor said: ‘Scotland is a beautiful country – but all is not what it seems. Scotland is one of the planet’s most nature-depleted countries.

‘Centuries of over-exploiting the country’s natural resources have left us with somewhere that looks beautiful but is dwindling day-by-day.’

The Rewilding Nation pathway includes specific proposals to make nature recovery the primary purpose of Scotland’s protected landscapes and seascapes, establishing wild zones around rivers and coastlines, doubling native woodland cover, restoring peatlands at pace, and restricting dredging and bottom trawling across Marine Protected Areas.

Steve Micklewight, Co-Convenor of the Scottish Rewilding Alliance and Chief Executive of Trees for Life, said: ‘As a country, we need to be far more ambitious.

‘This is a chance for Scotland to be leading the movement for global change, reclaiming its voice on the international stage by embracing the Rewilding Nation’s vision of hope for people, nature and climate.’

The Rewilding Nation campaign has drawn widespread support from people and organisations across Scotland. It has received high-profile public backing from actors like Cox and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Read more Outdoors stories here.

Subscribe to read the latest issue of Scottish Field.