Rewilding case study: monitoring natural capital and rewilding at the Natural Capital Laboratory, Birchfield, Loch Ness

This chapter presents the findings (to date) from a practical rewilding project in the Scottish Highlands. The project involves restoring native ecosystems and reintroducing species on a 40ha site at Birchfield near Loch Ness. As part of the rewilding process, a ‘Natural Capital Laboratory’ has been established to measure, monitor, and communicate the environmental, social, and economic impacts of rewilding. The chapter outlines the aims and background to the project. It also looks at the IUCN Rewilding Principles and how these are being incorporated into the execution of the project’s aims. In particular, there is a discussion of monitoring rewilding projects in line with the ninth IUCN rewilding principle. Finally, the chapter describes how a ‘natural capital’ framework has been used as a basis for the monitoring process and how the results have fed back into the site management process.