Ariane Burgess, Scottish Green MSP for the Highlands & Islands region, has voiced her profound disappointment at the latest obstacle preventing a beaver release project with overwhelming public support.
The initiative, aimed at reintroducing beavers to Glen Affric, has seen extensive volunteer and charity efforts dedicated to consultation and community engagement over two years – a process which had been described by the managers at the environment agency NatureScot as the “gold standard” in consultation.
“Despite the tireless work of volunteers and charities, including Trees for Life, to ensure thorough and exemplary local consultations, it appears a small number of people have managed to halt this vital project,” said Burgess.
“This decision undermines the significant amount of time and energy invested by the community and volunteers who have engaged in good faith.”
“The SNP Government has once again shown that it cannot be trusted to put restoring nature – our life-support system – and local communities first.
“Instead, it prefers to yield to vested interests and those with power.”
The project, which has garnered two-thirds community support, aimed to bring ecological and economic benefits through the reintroduction of beavers.
Beavers create wetlands that benefit other wildlife, soak up carbon dioxide, purify water, and reduce flooding, while also providing a draw to visitors.
In short, their presence and activity is critical to us meeting our climate targets and restoring nature.
“The failure to act decisively on this matter is a betrayal of the community’s trust and the environment,” Burgess added.
“We need transparent answers from NatureScot to explain their inconsistent behaviour.
“The agency’s indecision flies in the face of a Scottish Government directive to its public agencies to return beavers to suitable new areas of the country.
“We are in a biodiversity crisis and Scotland can’t afford its national nature agency to be failing to deliver in this way.
“Glen Affric is a National Nature Reserve, National Scenic Area and Site of Special Scientific Interest and local people support the reintroduction of beavers.
“We know that beavers need to be translocated from the River Tay, where they currently face lethal control, but if a release is struggling to get the go ahead in Glen Affric, NatureScot must explain how they plan to increase beaver populations in the time we have remaining to address the climate and nature emergencies.”
