It is suggested that the introduction of the wolf into the Scottish Highlands will be beneficial for the climate emergency
2025/02/20 Galarraga Aiestaran, Ana - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria
Researchers at Leeds University say that returning wolves to the Scottish Highlands would help restore the forests... This, in turn, has been confirmed as a response to the climate emergency due to the absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by forests.
They have used computational models to arrive at these conclusions, and the research is pioneering, as they have gone further than the studies so far: they have come to calculate how much money each wolf would have helped to save in climate solutions.
It is reported that the wolf was eradicated 250 years ago in the Scottish Highlands. Since then, there has been a great increase in deer, which has been left without great predators. In particular, it has been estimated that there are currently 400,000 deer in Scotland, and they are responsible for the disappearance of forests, which do not allow new trees to grow.
The introduction of about 140-190 wolves would balance the deer population, thus regenerating forests. The researchers estimate that these forests would absorb 1 million tons of carbon dioxide, which is 5% of the UK’s planned carbon decline by 2050.
The study has been published openly in the journal Ecological Solutions and Evidence. According to them, it is increasingly clear that climate and biodiversity crises cannot be studied and treated separately. On the contrary, they believe that there is a need for solutions that take both into account, believing that they are more effective and beneficial. In their analysis, the following examples have been given: promotion of ecotourism, reduction of traffic accidents caused by deer and control of Lyme disease.
However, they admit that the idea will also stimulate opposing positions. In fact, there is an intense debate in Europe about the level of protection of the wolf.
