A new national strategy has been developed to expand Scotland’s beaver population for decades to come.
Scotland’s Beaver Strategy 2022-2045 has involved more than 50 stakeholder organisations and represents one of the most ambitious approaches to managing and conserving the species.
Beavers create wetland habitats that help wildlife thrive and reduce flood risks.
The scheme aims to assess how to support communities to maximise the environmental benefits of beaver, while minimising the negative effects through appropriate management and mitigation.
The strategy highlights the need for ongoing research of the beaver population and its effects to improve management as the species expands.
It is estimated that Scotland’s beaver population is around 954 with 254 territories, NatureScot figures suggest.
The strategy was developed collaboratively under a process designed and led by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Conservation Planning Specialist Group (CPSG).
READ MORE: Scottish pubs criticise UK government energy bill relief
The cross-stakeholder team included representatives from NatureScot, the National Farmers Union of Scotland, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Scottish Land and Estates and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.
A new Scottish Beaver Advisory group will now work to bring the strategy forward.
Biodiversity minister Lorna Slater said: “Just 25 years ago most people would not have imagined that beavers would soon return as a member of our Scottish fauna.
“Now they are returning we have a responsibility to look after and value them – to learn to live alongside these remarkable animals.
“This strategy, and our work together to deliver it, is an important and welcome step towards this goal.
“I have no doubt of the positive impact that delivering it will have on the natural environment across the country, as beavers re-engineer and restore rivers and create wetlands.
“Recognising the concerns and requests made by stakeholders during the development of this strategy, the Scottish Government will support the expansion of beavers across the country, whilst ensuring land managers are supported to live alongside beavers.”
NatureScot’s chief executive Francesca Osowska said: “Our ambitious long-term vision is to see the beaver population expand across Scotland, co-existing successfully with communities.”
She added: “Beavers can play an important role in helping to restore biodiversity and respond to the climate emergency in Scotland and we aim to see further releases into new catchments in Scotland this year.
“At the same time, it’s essential that this happens in a way that takes into account the views of local communities living in these areas.
“NatureScot is committed to taking a lead role in implementing this strategy and much work is already under way, including mapping to prioritise suitable catchments, and conversations with a range of individuals and organisations to discuss possible new areas for beavers.
“Alongside this, we will continue to provide advice and support for managing and mitigating beaver impacts.”
Sarah Robinson, director of conservation at the Scottish Wildlife Trust, said: “Biodiversity is declining at a faster rate now than at any time in human history. Beavers provide a nature-based solution to tackling the growing crisis.
“The national strategy sets out how to help beavers become established throughout Scotland’s lochs, burns and rivers, and the many ways that both people and wildlife will benefit from their presence. We need to act urgently to implement this forward-looking strategy.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel