The policy consequences of defining rewilding

Abstract

More than 30 years after it was first proposed as a biodiversity conservation strategy, rewilding remains a controversial concept. There is currently little agreement about what the goals of rewilding are, and how these are best achieved, limiting the utility of rewilding in mainstream conservation. Achieving consensus about rewilding requires agreeing about what “wild” means, but many different definitions exist, reflecting the diversity of values in conservation. There are three key debates that must be addressed to find a consensual definition of “wild”: (1) to which extent can people and “wild” nature co-exist?; (2) how much space does “wild” nature need? and (3) what kinds of “wild” nature do we value? Depending on the kinds of “wild” nature rewilding aims to create, rewilding policy will be faced with managing different opportunities and risks for biodiversity and people.

Towards a holistic approach to rewilding in cultural landscapes

“…It becomes clear that further research is needed to elaborate what rewilding can mean for different land uses and land use intensities in landscape mosaics to make it tractable as a conservation approach. Such concrete notions of ‘rewilding’ also have consequences for governance and policy (see Section 4.4), as for example Schulte to Bühne et al (2022) show in their recent paper.…”

Rewilding in megacities: from concept to implementation

“…Однако на сегодняшний день термин «ревайлдинг» весьма нечасто применяется в специальной литературе ввиду своей дискуссионности [2].…”

“…Данную концепцию внедряют даже в самых густонаселенных городах, например, в Сиднее, где создана система вертикальных висячих садов One Central, объединяющая более 35 тысяч растений 383 различных видов. Эти сады снижают затраты на систему кондиционирования зданий в теплый сезон года, а также данный комплекс стал целой крупной экосистемой, в котором проживают различные виды насекомых, птиц и даже летучих мышей 2 .…”

“…8 cities rewilding their urban spaces. URL: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/06/8-citiesrewilding-their-urban-spaces/ (accessed: 26.02.2022) 2. Ibid.…”

Where are rhinos safest?

“…3 Key aspects reflect on a preference for disinvesting in captive rhino breeding operations and investing in secured, restored, and rewilded natural landscapes containing, amongst others, thriving rhino populations, despite a considerable diversity of concepts of wild and rewilding. 4 What lessons can South Africa derive from different successes across the different scales, management approaches and land uses associated with rhinos? Size of the area may be a key factor that influences the ease of poachers finding rhinos to poach and rangers finding rhinos to protect.…”