Scotland’s wild landscapes are of immeasurable value to Scottish society. Our understanding of what makes a landscape wild, of where our wildest areas are, and of how we should protect and enhance such areas is growing; however, many of Scotland’s wilder areas represent contested landscapes for a wide variety of stakeholders with contrasting interests and objectives. Should areas of Scotland be rewilded and, if so, what does this mean? How important will the climate change mitigation agenda be for Scotland’s wild areas, and what might the likely impacts be? What does recent research on wildness and wild land mean, and what directions can policy take to ensure a sustainable future for Scotland’s wild landscapes? These are some of the key questions that the participants in this meeting set out to discuss.

This two-day event aimed to:

raise awareness among key stakeholders and the general public of recent research, policy developments and key issues relating to Scotland’s wild landscapes; identify synergies across different policy agendas which relate to wild land conservation and restoration; identify future opportunities for wild landscapes; provide a discussion forum around which to foster future collaborations; develop recommendations for the conservation and enhancement of Scotland’s wild landscapes.

The event was held over two days and included presentations across a wide spectrum of interlinked themes relating to wild landscapes: biodiversity and rewilding; renewable energy and climate change; cultural and recreational perspectives; the importance of wild landscapes to the general public; and innovative research and policy development. There was also scheduled discussion and feedback sessions.