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Policies, guidelines and working with others

The guidelines and policies we use

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Guidelines for Reintroductions external site  was published in 1998 and is now used as the international standard by conservation organisations around the world when undertaking species reintroduction work.

In 2003, A Policy for Conservation Translocations of Species in Britain external site  was produced by the Joint Nature Conservancy Committee on behalf of Scottish Natural Heritage, the Countryside Council for Wales and English Nature. It describes how we have also adopted the IUCN Guidelines for Reintroductions in our species translocation work.

In 2007 we published the Species Action Framework  in which we set out a strategic approach to species management in Scotland. We also prioritised certain species for targeted management, emphasising the need that any reintroduction proposal must be able to address the IUCN Guidelines.

The National Species Reintroduction Forum

This Forum had its first meeting in May 2009. It is chaired by Scottish Natural Heritage and has a membership representing a range of stakeholders from land use, conservation and science sectors. The overall role of the Forum is to contribute to broad scale, strategic issues relating to species reintroductions in Scotland.

One of the first tasks of the Forum was to set up a new working group which will look at the interactions between beavers and salmonid fish (such as Atlantic salmon and sea trout). 

Translocation or reintroduction?

The terminology used when describing species reintroductions can be confusing but here are some definitions of some of the more commonly used terms:

  • Reintroduction = an attempt to establish a species in an area which was once part of its historical range, but from which it has been become extinct.
  • Translocation = the deliberate and mediated movement of wild individuals or populations from one part of their range to another. This is a 'catch-all' term used when ever we move a species,  whether for reintroduction or for other purposes.
  • Reinforcement or supplementation = the addition of individuals to an existing population of the same species.