Rewilding

​‘Rewilding’ is the process of restoring wild nature, letting natural processes shape ecosystems and landscapes with a minimum interference while protecting biodiversity and the species. Rewilding is a natural climate solution, and a key answer to the climate crisis. Greening and rewilding our planet binds carbon dioxide and improves the quality of air, soil and water, and cushions us against the effects of climate change. When we care for wild nature and the species, the regeneration of natural ecosystems will improve the resilience and health of our cities and our local communities.

A rewilded landscape differs from landscapes managed as ‘resources’ for people to benefit from. A ‘wild’ landscape is characterized by three ecological processes [1] : 1) random disturbance, naturally occurring landscape-altering events like herbivory and predation; 2) dispersal, living organisms that move unhindered across the landscape; and 3) trophic complexity, the existence of natural food webs and -systems. Rewilding means to spare land for these naturally occurring ecological processes through healthy soils and the proliferation of native plant and animal communities, including herbivores and predators.

In terms of rewilding strategy, we differentiate between ‘Rewilding Max’ and ‘Rewilding Lite’ [2] : 1) Rewilding Max is rewilding with minimal intervention covering large areas, with largely intact assemblages of species (high biodiversity). 2) Rewilding Lite are area-based interventions that seek to maximise ecological benefits of rewilding (increase wildness) with some human economic benefits (like sale of animal products, employment etc.) and maximise the area over which ecological benefits (conservation of biodiversity) are achieved. Syntropic agroforestry promotes stable, natural, and biodiverse food production systems. Because syntropic agroforestry regenerates water systems, soils and green growth, it can be described as ‘wildlife-friendly farming’, and as a step towards Rewilding Lite and eventually Rewilding Max in degraded areas without biodiversity. The figure below illustrates the transition from humanly modified land to wild nature:

Source: Gordon et.al (2021) p. 2

1) Gordon, I.J.; Pérez-Barbería, F.J.; Manning, A.D. (2021) Rewilding Lite: Using Traditional Domestic Livestock to Achieve Rewilding Outcomes. Sustainability 2021, 13, 3347. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063347 Academic Editor: C. Ronald Carroll, p. 4

2) Gordon, I.J.; Pérez-Barbería, F.J.; Manning, A.D. Rewilding Lite: Using Traditional Domestic Livestock to Achieve Rewilding Outcomes. Sustainability 2021, 13, 3347. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063347 Academic Editor: C. Ronald Carroll, p. 2