Anja Murray: Much-needed nature restoration gets a legal basis

And pioneering communities across the country are reinstating habitats and restoring rivers, wetlands, bogs, and woodlands

When we stop actively doing harm and implement well-designed interventions, many wild species and habitats can bounce back. Picture: Neil Michael 

Each week, this column documents some of the wondrous plants and animals that we share this island with, and the trials and tribulations they face as a result of having us, 21st-century humans, as fellow residents and neighbours. In the past 50 years in particular, we have made life near impossible for some of these most cherished wild fish, bumblebees, butterflies, birds, and mammals.

Many of the losses suffered by our wild kin are a direct result of activities such as wetland drainage, water pollution, overgrazing, burning, expansion of conifer plantations and clear-fell forestry, infrastructural development, peat extraction, and increased capacity of the fishing fleet. Much of the damage, however, is reversible. When we stop actively doing harm and implement well-designed interventions, many wild species and habitats can bounce back.