MARK COCKER ON THE RISKS OF REWILDING: 'MAN IS NOT ENTIRELY A BAD SPECIES'

The Vikos Gorge in Greece (photo: Skamnelis/Wikimedia Commons)

WHEN it comes to damage to the environment, man is entirely to blame. . .

That is today's conventional thinking, but is it true?

Not always according to Mark Cocker, a Friday speaker at this year's Birdfair - or 'Mudfair' as he jokingly described it given the conditions underfoot.

In his illustrated talk, he described the practices of small farmers in and around the Vikos Gorge and Zagori in Greece.

The shepherding of their sheep and goats has, through generations, sustained an entirely healthy balance of nature.

                                          

Mark Cocker - author and tour leader

It is one where wild flowers (as many as in  the whole of the UK), birds, butterflies and other creatures have flourished.

Alas, it is a world that is gradually vanishing, with the result that a new order is becoming established on vast tracts of depopulated land that was formerly agricultural.

Where land is no longer grazed, fields have closed over and scrubland species have started to crowd out wild flowers to the detriment of both them, insects and birds.

The population of boars has surged resulting in conflict between hunters and the few remaining shepherds.

Wolves, too, have been more common, so poison is being laid - a practice that has decimated carrion-feeding raptors.

The concept of wilding or rewilding is now being held up as trendy best practice, but, for all its plus points, Mark is far from being an out-and-out advocate.

“We shouldn’t assume that humans are always to blame,” he observed. “We’re not an entirely a bad species.

“Things are more nuanced than that. There are intimate interconnections of longstanding."

Away from writing books and giving talks, Mark also leads visits to two of his favourite places in continental Europe, Greece and in Spain.

In his presentation, he illustrated how man had shaped the landscape - to the good - in both places.

He was particularly warm about Spain's  Extremadura - “a wonderful place full of the sound of the tinkling of bells on farm animals wherever you go.”

Not only that but the way that the land has been managed over centuries has made it a habitat for a huge range of bird species including great and little bustards.

Mark is currently at work on a new book, but he is keeping the nature of its contents - and its title - under wraps.

All he will reveal is that its subtitle is Science and Imagination.

* More reports from Birdfair to follow

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