Impact case study database

Adaptations of methods developed initially in Scotland have been used to map wilderness character and cumulative visual impact, and influence policy change amongst governments, government agencies and NGOs around the world.

The president of the WILD Foundation explained how the vital decision-support research for wildland areas underpinned the implementation of US Interagency policy: “ Your work with US National Parks and colleagues in the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute provided the quantitative basis for mapping and monitoring under the long-standing principle of “Keeping It Wild” in US National Parks” [A]. Five national parks selected by the US government have been mapped to date using our techniques, providing key information for protection of wilderness character and guiding park management plans. Two of these (Denali, Death Valley) are in the top five largest US national parks, and across the five parks our work has so far informed the management of an area in excess of 40,000 km².

Research which developed detailed wilderness mapping appropriate to large heterogeneous areas across China has been used to underpin the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources’ expansion of China’s national parks and plans for a Wilderness Preservation System similar to that in the USA. The Deputy Director of Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Centre, Ministry of Natural Resources, People’s Republic of China, explained that [B]: “ your map and data has already been applied in a regional landscape planning project in the Three-Parallel-River region [17,000km²) in Yunnan province... a global biodiversity hotspot and also World Heritage Site, which have global significance. The data is also being applied in another ongoing ecological restoration planning project and related policy advice in Chong Qing province, mainly focus [sic] on ecological restoration land consolidation”. The corroboration goes on to explain how the Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Centre wrote “ a report on wilderness conservation and rewilding and passed it to the Minister of Natural Resources. The recommendations … have been accepted and highly approved and supported by the minister. Our minister has already asked the agencies charging for ecological restoration and spatial planning to further explore the concept” thus informing national plans to protect biodiversity and wilderness in China.

The research developed by Carver and colleagues has led the way across Europe, forming the basis for a European-wide wild land definition and mapping programme. This work addressed the European Parliament resolution on Wilderness in Europe (2008/2210(INI)) and subsequent refinements at the EU Presidency conference on Wilderness and Large Natural Areas in Europe (Prague, 2009). The co-ordinator of the Wild Europe initiative noted that research on the “ characterisation and mapping of wilderness and its attributes was crucial in providing credibility among policy makers” [C]. Upscaling has provided the necessary analysis of wilderness quality across the EU and its relationship with protected area boundaries [Fig 1a], enabling the EU to identify 113,000km² of legally designated wilderness and compare these to 22,000km² of wilderness areas that remain without protection. The EU now recognises wilderness areas as vital for achieving EU Habitats and Birds Directive’s objectives, and those of the wider EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy and the new European Green Deal. Carver’s research was used in the preparation of new guidance on how best to ensure the conservation of wilderness areas within the Natura 2000 Network (covering >18% of EU land and marine areas) as further noted by [C]: “ the Wildland Research Institute [at Leeds] …has been centrally involved in large-scale ecosystem conservation that we have promoted, under contract to the European Commission. Among these have been Guidelines for the Management of Wilderness and Wild Areas in the Natura 2000 network, and the EC European Wilderness Register”.

The impact also extends to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) global policy-making, as corroborated by the Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) Beyond the Aichi Targets Task Force, and Co-Founder and Strategic Advisor of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative: “ it has helped to inform the ideas that led to our Task Force developing a new framework that we have proposed for the Convention on Biological Diversity Conservation’s Post-2020 Strategic Plan called the Three Global Conditions for Biodiversity and Sustainable Use” [D].

Carver was commissioned directly by IUCN France to map ‘haute naturalité’ in France, thus developing a bespoke method for quantifying degrees of naturalness across the country and providing the spatial data that underpins President Macron’s promise for stronger nature protection (“protection forte”). Phase II has been developed and successfully tested with Phase III ongoing for the remainder of the country. The wild land mapping research base has enabled Icelandic NGOs to map and protect Icelandic wilderness from inappropriate energy development, and realise wilder landscape values by quantifying the patterns of impact and loss of wilderness values if permission were to be granted. The Chair of ÓFEIG Náttúruvernd corroborated this impact [E]: “ Your experience and expertise has helped us accurately map the threat from hydropower plants and accompanying dams in the area [Westfjords of Iceland; 22,271km²]. This area is part of one of the largest wilderness areas outside the highlands in central Iceland, which without the mapping would prove difficult to protect. We are confident that your mapping work has been an important and influential factor in the decision of developers in 2020 to put the Hvalárvirkjun power plant development on hold. The mapping and report you presented in Reykjavík (26/11/19) gained huge attention and put the potential impacts the plant would have firmly in the spotlight, not least within government agencies…your work has influenced a Bill of Law proposed by the government, leading to amendments to the Icelandic Nature Conservation Act No 60/2013 making the mapping of wilderness mandatory”.

Modelling of wild land indices enabled Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) to deliver recommendations made in their 2002 policy statement. Specifically, the Scottish Government has now accurately mapped wildness across the country based on the research [Fig 1b], with significant impetus from work by the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA). Research by Carver played “ a significant part in the development of national park policy and indeed influenced the Scotland wide approach to wildland mapping. It has established wildness as one of our most significant Special Landscape Qualities. We have gone on to work with SNH on developing a rigorous appraisal methodology that is now used in a wide range of applications for example; Windfarms, hill tracks, widening of the A9 and woodland planting in the uplands. As a tool for conserving the wildness of the national park it will have an effect on every visitor, in the region of 1.5m per annum”, as noted by the Heritage Manager at the Cairngorms National Park Authority [F].

The research provided the intellectual and methodological basis for Scottish Government policy change in 2014 to better protect wild land areas [G], with related campaigns by NGOs such as the John Muir Trust drawing heavily on Carver’s work [H]. The Policy and Advice Manager for Scottish Natural Heritage corroborated these changes [G]: “ Critical to the feasibility of mapping wildness at a national level was the use of the voxel viewshed software developed at Leeds University. The national map of wildness provided the foundation for our identification of 42 Wild Land Areas (c.19% of Scotland) in 2014. These were given formal policy recognition in the Scottish Government’s Third National Planning Framework and Scottish Planning Policy as being of national interest. The wildness mapping and Wild Land Areas have become established as important tools in guiding development and informing planning decisions, particularly on renewable energy schemes. We continue to advise planning authorities and Scottish Ministers on the impact of various proposals on wild land areas, and have successfully defended our position in a number of cases at public local inquiries, drawing on the information and approach taken by the mapping work”.