Abstract
Rewilding is an emerging strategy in ecological restoration that aims to restore self-sustaining complex ecosystems characterised by minimal human intervention. As we enter the UN Decade on Restoration, rewilding has increasingly been highlighted as having the potential to upscale restoration to meet sustainability goals and simultaneously reconnect humans with nature. However, further integrative research is needed to help define rewilding implementation strategies in such an applied topic. The long-term aim of our combined work is to address critical research gaps in rewilding science and practice. Firstly, by developing participatory scenarios to portrait different management options that inform possible ecological and societal outcomes of rewilding. Second, examining the ecological trajectories that result from the implementation of rewilding projects, and finally, studying the socio-economic benefits of rewilding over time. Here, we present the early results of our interdisciplinary work. From a social perspective we outline a synthesis study of how the future of nature in Europe has been envisioned in ecosystem restoration narratives, and what elements of rewilding are being included in these. While using expert-based and data-driven monitoring approaches, we can understand both the landscape changes occurring across European sites, as well as the ecological factors important for rewilding progress. Moreover, understanding the economic potential of rewilding can help to implement sustainable funding structures that increase the chances a given project will persist over time. Together this integrative work presents a strong policy case for how rewilding can be progressed in a scientifically rigorous way in the future.
Presenters
Rowan Dunn CapperPhD Student / TERRANOVA ESRs, Biodiversity Conservation, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Sachsen, Germany Josiane Segar
Doctoral Researcher, Biodiversity Conservation, iDiv, Germany Laura Catalina Quintero Uribe
Doctoral Researcher, Biodiversity Conservation, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Sachsen, Germany
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
KEYWORDS
Rewilding; Ecological Restoration; Participatory Scenarios; Ecosystem Monitoring; Conservation Funding
