The conservation strategy of restoring ecosystems by reintroducing apex predators and letting nature manage itself with minimal human intervention.
Trophic Cascades
George Monbiot’s 2013 TED talk and book Feral popularized rewilding. The concept: reintroduce apex predators (wolves, lynx) and keystone species (beavers) to trigger trophic cascades—restoring ecosystem balance. Yellowstone’s wolf reintroduction (1995) became the model: wolves controlled deer, allowing vegetation recovery, which stabilized riverbanks.
European Rewilding Projects
Rewilding Europe (founded 2011) aimed to rewild 1 million hectares by 2020. Projects reintroduced European bison, Iberian lynx, and beavers. The Oostvaardersplassen in Netherlands created controversy—should dying animals be culled or left to natural selection? Debates emerged: was rewilding restoring “pre-human” nature or creating new ecosystems?
Carbon Storage Potential
By 2020, rewilding gained traction as climate solution—restored forests and grasslands sequester carbon. “Natural climate solutions” could provide 37% of emissions reductions needed. But land conflicts emerged: rewilding versus agriculture, versus renewable energy projects, versus human settlements. The movement showed conservation and climate action overlapping but also competing for land.
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