Beavers backed with £1 million by Biffaward
The project to bring beavers back to Scotland has received a huge boost today (01 December), thanks to a national funding scheme which turns landfill waste into real benefits for communities and wildlife across the UK.
Biffaward, a multi-million pound environment fund, which utilises landfill tax credits donated by Biffa Waste Services, has pledged to support the Scottish Beaver Trial with grants of up to £1 million. The six-year reintroduction project will see up to four beaver families released in Knapdale, Mid-Argyll in spring 2009.
Gillian French, Biffaward Programme Manager, said: "This is a truly unique and groundbreaking project and Biffaward is delighted to be the major funding partner. The Scottish Beaver Trial holds the potential to reintroduce a species back into the UK which offers strong national, environmental and economic benefits. We are fully committed to backing the beavers return to Scotland and will help in whatever way we can."
Simon Jones, SWT Project Manager for the Scottish Beaver Trial, said: "Bringing back the beaver to Scotland signals the first-ever formal wild reintroduction of a mammal to the UK. The beaver was hunted to extinction and holds the potential to create new wetland habitats which in turn can increase the number of native species. Receiving backing from Biffaward really highlights the biodiversity benefits that the project hopes to confirm. We are delighted to have them on-board as the major funding partner."
The Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), under the project name Scottish Beaver Trial, were granted a licence by the Scottish Government in May 2008 to undertake a scientific trial which aims to assess the impact beavers will have on the Scottish landscape and determine whether a widespread reintroduction is feasible for the future. Working with the Forestry Commission, who owns the site at Knapdale, site preparations for the arrival of the beavers have already started. The Scottish Government has asked Scottish Natural Heritage to coordinate the independent scientific monitoring of the trial, reporting on whether the conditions of the licence are being fully addressed on the ground.
Biffaward, a Landfill Communities Fund scheme, provides grants to community and environmental projects across the UK, using money generated from landfill tax credits. The funding for the Scottish Beaver Trial is part of the Biffaward Partnership Scheme, an invitation-only funding stream for projects with nationally important cultural or biodiversity benefits.
Biffaward's funding is set to help the project monitor the beavers and their impact on their surroundings, as well as develop information points allowing visitors to the area to learn more about beavers and their habitat.
For more information please visit www.scottishbeavers.co.uk
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