one of the crucial aspects of national life is the future of the scottish highlands. vast areas of the countryside are being bought by wealthy individuals keen to return the land to its natural state. they want to introduce the process of rewilding and to stop what they consider ecological degradation, deforestation and the loss of biodiversity. our special correspondent allan little has been investigating. there is a juniper bush appearing, and right down here, we have a rowan that s got its orange autumnal colours on it there. across hundreds of thousands of acres, some of scotland s landowners are changing the way they use land. this is glenfeshie, where most of the deer have been culled. do that, and tree and other plant life comes back naturally. habitats and ecosystems lost to grazing for centuries are reseeding insects, birds and mammals should follow. none of this is planted. this is all natural regeneration. that s why we have a 200 year vision to get this whole
we ll have the latest on the emergency operation. also tonight, from the headquarters of bbc scotland in glasgow. the first minister tells the bbc she will serve a full term until 2026, and she intends to press ahead with plans for an independence referendum. we have the story of a man with autism and learning disabilities who s been held in a secure unit for 21 years because of a lack of community support. a review of the way english football is governed calls for an independent regulator to sort out the game s finances. and we survey the future of the scottish highlands, where the race is on to return vast areas to their natural state. and coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel, some of snooker s biggest names back shaun murphy over his claims that amateurs should not be allowed in professional tournaments. good evening. we start with the tragedy in the english channel, where at least 31 migrants have drowned while trying to cross from france. there are five women a
wealth who are reimagining the scottish landscape in our day. allan little, bbc news, in the highlands. that s it. newsnight is about to start over on bbc two with a special programme on the migrant crisis. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. hello. a fresh and sunny day awaits for most on thursday after a widely cold start, a frost in places. there will be some lingering cloud, patchy drizzle from the overnight across parts of southeast and the channel islands, wintry showers continue in northern scotland. snow falling to lower levels, giving a slight covering in places. elsewhere, the odd wintry shower possible around the coast, hail, maybe a bit of sleet over any higher ground. more showers in the far north of scotland, developing a bit more widely in northern ireland throughout the day, but for most, they stay dry and sunny, and it s cold, 5 9 celsius, down on what we d normally expected at this stage in november. but temperatures actu
And that s something that we should celebrate. but the rewilders believe they are turning the page on the victorian legacy and redefining scottish land use for the climate age. there are several big renaturing projects over hundreds of thousands of acres, mostly driven by the private passions of billionaire landowners, sometimes called the green lairds. we know these landscapes are socially unjust because of the concentration of land ownership, the land inequality, so i see a lot of the landlord driven, the green laird driven restoration and rewilding projects as only really dealing with a small part of the problem in these landscapes. i want to see environmental restoration that also deals with the socialjustice issues of these landscapes. but for now, just as in the victorian age, it is private landlords with the power of their private wealth who are reimagining the scottish landscape in our day. allan little, bbc news, in the highlands. now on bbc news,