Rewilding: Royal family urged to rewild family estates

A campaign group has called on the Royal Family to rewild their lands to help tackle Britain's biodiversity crisis.

More than 100 of Britain's best known nature experts, academics and TV presenters have signed an open letter.

They argue that rewilding the royal estates would "signal a new chapter has begun: a chapter in which nature is honoured and cherished rather than eroded and exploited."

The letter, organised by campaign group Wild Card, is addressed to the Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge.

The Royal Family is one of the biggest UK landowners and the letter congratulates them on the conservation work they already do:

"You are already amongst the leaders of habitat restoration, with a number of inspiring projects already being undertaken on royal land," it says.

Prince Charles has long been committed to environmental causes and more recently, Prince William launched the Earthshot prize, a new competition to try and inspire people to solve "some of the world's greatest environmental challenges".

But the campaigners believe if the Royal Family committed to improving biodiversity on their estates it would bring about change: "(it) would be both ground-breaking and game-changing. Others would undoubtedly follow."

The Royal Family own a lot of land, including Balmoral which is about 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres) - that's nearly twice the size of Manchester.

Wild Card write that if large parts of Balmoral were left to allow nature take its course it would be "covered by rare temperate rainforest" and all over Britain, in land owned by the royal family, we would see the return of flower-rich grasslands, more birds, swaps and rivers.

The letter adds that we are in danger of forgetting the "natural wonders of these lands" but "today's young people are urging us not to let this happen."

Academics believe that big changes can happen even by targeting just one landowner and hope this might encourage other large landowners to do the same.

A UN report found that the world needs to rewild at least one billion hectares (2.47 billion acres), which is the size of China, by 2030 to meet its climate and nature commitments.

A spokesperson for the Royal Estates responded saying: "As the letter states, members of the royal family have a longstanding commitment to conservation and biodiversity, and for over 50 years have championed the preservation and development of natural ecosystems.

"The royal estates are constantly evolving and looking for new ways to continue improving conservation, biodiversity and public access to green spaces, as well as being home to thriving communities and businesses which form part of the fabric of the local community."