Beò Airceig : Living Arkaig
The Loch Arkaig catchment in Lochaber is home to nationally important remnants of ancient Caledonian pinewood, many of which cannot regenerate due to fragmentation and browsing. It is home to some of Scotland’s rarest species and is located in Scotland’s core rainforest zone.
Beò Airceig is an ambitious 30,000-hectare landscape-scale collaboration project between the community and other landowners in the glens surrounding Loch Arkaig.
Partners are working together to regenerate and reconnect ancient Caledonian pine fragments and other surviving, but fragile, rainforest remnants in this area that is also important for its freshwater, peatland and mountain environments.
Glen Arkaig is home to some of Scotland’s rarest species. Credit Rare Breed Productions
Project aims
Beò Airceig partners are collaborating to:
Restore, expand and connect precious rainforest habitat (including nationally important areas of ancient woodland and Caledonian pinewood).
Restore, expand and connect fragile areas of remnant montane, plantation on ancient woodland sites (PAWS), and riparian woodland.
Support community leadership through project development, planning and delivery.
Establish a community-owned Woodland Learning Hub, which will provide a base for training, community events, volunteers and staff.
Deliver sustainable deer management, with demonstrable community involvement and environmental benefits.
Monitor freshwater waterbodies/water courses, peatland and associated wetland habitats to inform the improvement of their ecological health.
Develop social enterprise/community benefits related to land management.
Monitor invasive non-native species (INNS), aiming to eradicate or reduce populations to manageable levels.
Develop systems/processes for coordinated survey/monitoring/data sharing.
The collective ambition to restore habitats across the wider landscape builds on work already being delivered by three of the four partners as part of a Nature Restoration Funded project at Loch Arkaig.
All landowners are committed to sharing knowledge, experience, and resources to achieve their joint vision: “to reawaken the landscape as a thriving natural ecosystem with a rich diversity of habitats that will support a resilient local community of both people and wildlife with an environmental, social and economic balance".
Project partners
The founding members of Beò Airceig are Achnacarry Estate, Arkaig Community Forest (ACF), Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), and Woodland Trust Scotland (WTS). Together they provide an almost perfect microcosm of highland land ownership – a traditional estate, a community group that has exercised its right-to-buy, a government agency, and a nature conservation charity. The partnership is inclusive, with all partners being equally involved in project governance, development and decision making.
Funding requirements
The estimated cost of delivering a project of this magnitude is more than £10M over the next 10 years. The project is grateful to prior Nature Restoration Fund investment, without which it would not have been able to evidence the impact and benefits of landscape-scale collaboration. Beò Airceig is in the process of applying to a range of funders for support. It’s an exciting time and there is genuine commitment from all partners to move forward fast. Please get in touch if you’d like to find out more.
For more information contact:
Liam Wright, Site Manager – Loch Arkaig
Woodland Trust Scotland
