Facing Up To The Climate Change Threat

The Scottish Natural Heritage chair on why the country is in a great position to cope with the future

MOSQUITOES in Callander are proof that climate change is here right now – and the next 15 years will be crucial in stepping up to the challenges it is bringing across the country, according to the chair of Scottish Natural Heritage.

Mike Cantlay was born and brought up in Callander and his house includes land by the River Teith. He says, “Midges have a divine right to bite, but in recent years the fishers on the river have reported a greater challenge from mosquitoes at certain times of the year. Apparently, mosquitoes have made their way up the Forth estuary and have arrived in greater numbers in Callander.

“Midges have been here for as long as we have ever known, but mosquitoes are climate change. These are the kind of changes every farmer and every ghillie will tell you about, and that is what we have got to face.”

After beginning his tenure with SNH last year, he says he realised the government agency had to “reposition how we communicate with people, to explain what is going on and inspire them to become more involved and better informed, so that Scotland makes better decisions – that we gear up to better handle climate change and the changing face of nature”.

SNH’S vision is laid out in its new corporate plan, Connecting People And Nature. Mike says a “profound change is needed” in the next 10-15 years in terms of meeting government targets, including reducing carbon emissions and generating renewable power.

Mike was born and brought up in Callander, where his father bought a house with 26 hectares (65 acres) of mixed-use land, where he still lives. It’s helped him develop a love and understanding of rural Scotland.

“There is a bit of River Teith, rough pasture and some