rewilding

Rewilding is a form of ecological restoration that aims to restore self-sustaining ecosystems by prioritizing natural processes, reconnecting habitats, and reintroducing missing species. Unlike some traditional conservation approaches that focus on preserving or returning to a specific historical state, rewilding emphasizes the emergence of ecological functions, resilience to disturbance, and the expansion of wildness across landscapes.

Core strategies include protecting and restoring large, connected habitats; restoring natural disturbance regimes; and reintroducing keystone or ecosystem-engineering species, such as top predators, herbivores, or seed dispersers, where appropriate. Rewilding also uses landscape-scale connectivity to allow species to shift ranges in response to climate change and other pressures.

Examples include the reintroduction of gray wolves to Yellowstone National Park (1995–1996), which is frequently cited as a landmark case; in Europe, carnivore reintroductions and large-scale projects in the Carpathians or the Danube floodplains; and the Oostvaardersplassen in the Netherlands, noted for its controversial aspects and large-scale management approach.

Critiques of rewilding include potential conflicts with livestock and other land uses, welfare concerns in some managed sites, economic costs, governance complexity, and uncertainty about ecological outcomes. Proponents argue that it can restore natural processes, increase biodiversity, and enhance ecosystem services, while acknowledging trade-offs and the need for careful stakeholder engagement and monitoring.

Rewilding intersects with ecological restoration and conservation biology but is distinct in its emphasis on autonomous processes and large spatial scales.