Rewilding

By Izzy Williamson

What is rewilding?

As a contemporary form of conservation and ecological restoration, rewilding has gained heightened attention and critical discussion in recent years. In being defined by Rewilding Europe as “letting nature take care of itself, enabling natural processes to shape land and sea, repair damaged ecosystems and restore degraded landscapes”¹, rewilding aims to restore what has been lost and protect what is left. More specifically, the rewilding concept orients upon the ‘three C’s’, also known as:

• Cores: core protected areas where human activities are curtailed.
• Corridors: protected wilderness areas which are connected to allow migration and movement.
• Carnivores: large predators or keystone species which regulate the ecosystem and ensure stable relationships throughout the food chain.

Where is rewilding done?

• Geographically: Although first originating in North America, rewilding has recently expanded to Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. Europe and North America still remain key hotspots however.
• Locally: In being applied at local, regional, and national scales, rewilding tends to be located in areas where the ecosystem has been perturbed in some way. This might include environments where biodiversity has diminished, or land has been left unprotected or abandoned over time.

How is rewilding done?

Although approaches to rewilding differ cross-contextually, most projects tend to involve species reintroduction and passive management. Usually, this requires human intervention at the beginning to help kickstart and facilitate the rewilding process. These actions may include:

• Protecting, expanding, and connecting ancient woodlands
• Dyke/dam removal
• Ground preparation
• Direct seeding
• Species reintroduction
• Nesting protection
• Reducing high populations of grazing animals
• Removing fishing pressures and increasing marine protection
• Restoring wetlands and introducing beavers
• Connecting habitats

Socio-economic value

• Tourism. Nature tourism can create jobs, which through generating income for locals, can trigger multiplier effects for entire communities – including the potential for sustainable economic development. This can prove especially consequential in remote locations which are less prosperous or attractive for investors.
• Entrepreneurship. Rewilding can provide locals the opportunity to create and sell cultural products. While this can provide income, it can also educate and engage visitors with regard to local heritage and the importance of conservation.
• Natural resilience. In providing clean air and water, natural flood defenses, and an active carbon sink, rewilding offers a form of protection against climate change, including extreme weather events. This in itself represents immense socio-economic value given the associated risks to infrastructure and livelihoods.

Human health and wellbeing

• Human connection with wild nature has proven health benefits to both physical and mental wellbeing, and is seen as a way to help overcome ‘nature-deficit disorder’ in children and adults¹.
• Reconnecting communities with nature – both urban and rural – can cultivate a shared sense of pride and care for the environment. Such engagement can sponsor positive attitudes towards wildlife protection and conservation, representing potential to spillover into everyday behavior.

What are the concerns?

As a relatively recent concept, with most projects still in infancy, questions over where, how, and if, rewilding should be done has been a topic of intense debate. The largely unproven benefits, and difficulties over monitoring have exacerbated these concerns. Key points of contention include:

• Ecological risk. Introducing (non-native) species potentially from abroad, risks bringing in disease or unintended interactions within local environments.
• Socio-economic cost. In preventing the development of productive farmland, rewilding represents an opportunity cost for farmers and landowners. This also raises environmental concerns given this could increase reliance upon carbon-intensive imports to feed a growing population in the UK.
• Commerciality. If the rewilded land is used for commercial activity such as tourism and local business, there is the risk that incentives begin to deviate. This could involve greenwashing and unsustainable business practice.
• Conflict. Land management projects tend to involve a wide-range of stakeholders, including tourists, farmers, environmentalists, hunters, entrepreneurs, and local residents. Competing interests can cause socio-political issues in discussions upon application and monitoring.

Where next for rewilding?

Going forwards, rewilding organizations aim to scale up projects as quickly as possible. In the UK, Rewilding Britain aims to rewild at least 5% of total land. To achieve this ‘amplification process’, experts intend to:

• Educate. Provide support, knowledge, and expertise to landowners and foresters.
• Network. Develop global networks with scientists, academics, and policymakers via the Rewilding Network.
• Communicate. Develop communications and marketing material to engage the public, government, and private sector.
• Pressure. Target the European Commission to develop legislation which advocates and supports rewilding processes.

Rewilding and tree planting Health.

Opposing or complementary?

There are varied perspectives as to if and how rewilding and tree planting should interact. Some environmentalists perceive the two as opposing conservation techniques given that tree planting can be considered to curtail the natural dynamics within a wild space, and in doing so, limit ecosystem diversity and richness . However, most environmental organisations consider tree planting as a complementary, and often necessary support mechanism to rewilding, especially at early stages of development . While natural regeneration is often a sustainable way to build ecosystem resilience, structural support from tree planting and vegetation clearing can be highly beneficial to facilitating and maintaining healthy woodland growth.

Finding a balance

In some locations, rewilding can encourage resilience to disease, diversify ecosystems, and promote long-term carbon sequestration. In other locations however, managed tree planting can be a more effective and efficient mechanism through which to sequester carbon. This is especially relevant in areas where rewilding is unlikely to occur, such as urban parks or grasslands which are far from natural seed sources .

Given that greenhouse gas emissions are growing exponentially, and the associated ecological and human repercussions are now increasingly visible, the speed and scale at which conservation happens needs to be re-addressed. Both tree planting and rewilding offer invaluable ways to help achieve our ambitious climate targets, and potentially prevent us from climate chaos.