The Wildlife Trusts has unveiled a new £6m ecological restoration fund to support rewilding projects across the UK.
The programme, entitled 'Transforming Nature’s Recovery', aims to boost UK nature and help reverse 'catastrophic declines' in wildlife.
Figures show more than 40% of species in the UK are in decline and over 15% are threatened with extinction.
The charity said rivers "are dying from agricultural and sewage pollution, and many people suffer from lack of access to nature".
Funding will contribute towards applications and release programmes of 'free-living' beavers to restore wetlands and low-level grazing, alongside Exmoor ponies, Welsh blacks, and highland cows.
The programme will also seek to create bigger and more connected wild areas "to allow natural processes to help restore nature’s abundance, resilience and diversity".
The charity will also launch a landscape recovery programme along Hadrian’s Wall, back projects in Hertfordshire, the Welsh Marches, Peak District, and Northern Ireland, and complement nature recovery work across the River Severn catchment.
The programme is designed to help the UK achieve its existing target of protecting at least 30% of land and sea by 2030 and reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Dr Rob Stoneman, director of landscape recovery at the Wildlife Trusts, said: “Our bold approach to nature recovery is a highly necessary change of gear that will benefit every single one of us.
"Restoring and expanding wild places tackles problems of flooding, drought and pollinator decline; this is critical for farming, healthier rivers and seas, and adapting to the changing climate.
"We must create a place where wildlife, farming and people thrive together; where beavers work their magic and benefit communities; where seas are abundant with marine wildlife, and where there’s easy access to nature to improve people’s lives.
"This game-changing donation from the Ecological Restoration Fund will bolster our work when nature needs us most.”
