Glen Affric National Nature Reserve, managed by Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), has joined Affric Highlands, the UK’s largest rewilding landscape. This brings the total number of landholdings in the initiative to 20, with the aim of restoring nature across more than 200,000 hectares of the central Highlands.
Affric Highlands is a community-focused initiative that aims to boost biodiversity, tackle climate change, and create social and economic opportunities for people. It is coordinated by charity Rewilding Affric Highlands and brings together a wide coalition of landowners, local people, charities, and businesses.
This month, FLS, the Scottish government’s forestry agency, and Rewilding Affric Highlands have signed an agreement bringing the Glen Affric National Nature Reserve and other FLS landholdings in the glen – totaling 17,604 hectares – into the partnership.
Stephanie Kiel, Executive Director of Rewilding Affric Highlands, said, “This is a huge step forwards for the entire area to become richer in nature, with new opportunities for people, including jobs, re-peopling and health. Glen Affric is at the heart of Affric Highlands, and FLS’s work in this special place is hugely important.”
Alex Macleod, FLS North Region Manager, who signed the agreement on behalf of the agency, said, “We’re delighted to join this important coalition to allow nature to connect up and thrive across such a vast area of the Highlands. As stewards of Glen Affric on behalf of the nation, we hope our involvement will play a key part in further ensuring the extensive, long-term health of nature, communities, and livelihoods.”
Glen Affric is known as the most beautiful glen in Scotland and is home to one of the best examples of the globally unique Caledonian forest. However, this forest is now reduced to less than 2% of its original extent. FLS has been working on public forestry conservation in the glen for 75 years and has partnered with others on restoring the Caledonian forest. This has protected and restored hundreds of hectares of Caledonian pinewoods and other open land habitats.
In the past month, the 5,800-hectare Barrisdale Estate has also joined Affric Highlands, bringing the total number of landowners to 21 and covering a combined total of more than 81,000 hectares. These landholdings are making their own decisions on nature recovery, with support and advice from the Rewilding Affric Highlands team.
Work is underway to restore native woodlands and peatlands, boost biodiversity, and create vital habitats for wildlife. This includes creating riverwoods to provide shade, nutrients, and shelter for struggling Atlantic salmon. The initiative also aims to strengthen land-based rural livelihoods and nature-based economic opportunities, making the region a hub for sustainable timber, fishing, farming, and wildlife tourism.
The Affric Highlands landscape, which aims to cover over 700 square miles, is mostly owned by 56 large estates, and Rewilding Affric Highlands is encouraging more landowners to join up. Affric Highlands is also a member of Rewilding Europe’s family of major European-wide flagship rewilding landscapes.
In April this year, Rewilding Affric Highlands became an independent charity, having previously worked since 2021 as a joint venture led by Trees for Life, with support from Rewilding Europe. This followed the initiative’s first three years as Trees for Life’s East-West Wild project, when there was extensive preparation and local consultation.
For more details, please visit affrichighlands.org.
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