Thriving rainforests could once again be part of the British landscape, covering as much as 20 per cent of the country.

That’s according to the rewilding campaign Lost Rainforests of Britain, which has produced an online tool to show where it could be accomplished.

While temperate rainforest used to cover most of the west coast, today it occupies less than 1 per cent of the UK’s land.

Isolated areas still exist, like the waterfalls region in the Brecon Beacons, but they are dwindling.

Those behind the campaign say that with effort and investment, it’s possible to bring back Britain’s rainforests.

They have created an online map showing whereabouts in the country the wilderness could be restored.

Constructed using an ‘index of hygrothermy’ to show gradations of climate, the map uses lighter blues to show an ‘oceanic’ climate and darker blues and purples to denote a ‘hyper-oceanic’ climate.

These differences would influence the flora and fauna that could thrive in each area.

According to the campaign, there’s huge public support for the idea. A YouGov poll covering over 2,000 adults commissioned by Lost Rainforests of Britain found 93 per cent support the protection of our remaining rainforest.

Meanwhile, 83 per cent supported the expansion of our rainforests to cover more land.

‘I think the map gives a sense of hope that 20% of Britain has the right climate for temperate rainforest,’ said Guy Shrubsole, who runs the Lost Rainforests of Britain campaign.

‘It is highly likely that that area would have been once covered with rainforest thousands of years ago. Ultimately, I think that’s something we need to take inspiration from and look to the past to think about what we need to be bringing back in future,’ he told the Guardian.

‘I don’t necessarily think we could cover all of the 20%. But I do think we could allow those existing fragments that we have identified to expand in size.’

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