A new multi-decade nature restoration partnership is aiming to help improve ecological diversity and climate resilience in Lochaber.
Loch Abar Mòr (LAM), led by conservation charity Scotland: The Big Picture (STBP), is uniting local landholders, businesses and communities in order to strengthen biodiversity in the region over the next 50 years.
Both ecological and economic benefits are included in the partnership’s ambitions, which it describes as ‘to create a rich mosaic of habitats alive with nature, weaving across boundaries, in which people work and live with a sense of pride and belonging.’
Six founding partners representing 80,000 acres of Lochaber land have already signed up to LAM: Corrour Estate; The Woodland Trust (WT); Glenaladale Estate; National Trust for Scotland (NTS); Glen Nevis Estate;
and the Nevis Landscape Partnership.
However Peter Cairns, Executive Director of STBP and LAM convenor, stressed that the partnership is open to ‘anybody that can add tangible value to the objectives of Lochaber.’
LAM will hold a soft launch at Fort William’s Highland Cinema on Friday May 17. Hosted by Mr Cairns, the free event will also include presentations by Sarah Watts of Corrour Estate; Henry Dobson from WT Scotland; and NTS’s Scott McCombie.
Speaking of the new partnership, Mr Cairns said that although there was the possibility of push back from those concerned about changes, or who view such projects as a Trojan horse, the fact that Scotland had recently been placed 212th out of 240 in a survey on intact biodiversity showed there was an issue.
Furthermore, despite its reputation for natural beauty, Lochaber was not exempt from the need to help nature recover.
“Obviously in the Lochaber region there are landscapes of significant cultural value, and it is iconic, beautiful, dramatic,” Mr Cairns said.
“But ecologically, much of it is depleted. We’ve had centuries of burning, felling, grazing, draining, and whether we like to admit it or not, we do have a nature depleted landscape.
“In the face of climate breakdown, we can’t keep ignoring that, so this partnership ultimately wants to address, arrest and reverse further ecological decline. That is really the impetus.”
Cairngorms Connect, Affric Highlands, and Northwoods Rewilding Network are all examples of similar collaborative approaches in Scotland’s recent efforts to improve ecological diversity, he added.
Further information on the LAM initiative can be found at www.lochabarmor.scot. Tickets for the LAM launch event, which starts at 6.30pm, can be booked through the STBP website. Link:
www.scotlandbigpicture.com/event-registration/LAM-gathering-240509/139.
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