Rewilding – Making Britain a wilder place through restoration, regeneration, and reintroductions
Rewilding can help to combat the decline in biodiversity that has been faced across the planet. Lizzie discusses rewilding in the context of the UK.
Britain, much like the rest of the world, has experienced a dramatic decline in biodiversity, with more than 50% of species in Britain in decline and 15% threatened with extinction. However, over recent years, a relatively new conservation technique to combat the decline in biodiversity has been spreading; Rewilding.
Illustration by Katie de Lusignan
The conservation charity Rewilding Britain defines rewilding as ‘the large-scale restoration of ecosystems to the point where nature is allowed to take care of itself’. They go on to state that rewilding aims to ‘reinstate natural processes and, where appropriate, missing species’. Rewilding differs from more traditional conservation approaches as traditional conservation relies on intensive management and typically focuses on species-level conservation. Rewilding on the other hand focuses on restoring whole ecosystems and allowing natural processes to drive change.
Rewilding can take many different forms and can also work at very different scales, from large-scale reforestation projects to individuals allowing nature to take control of their gardens. Rewilding Britain outlines a range of examples of rewilding projects, from protecting and connecting ancient woodland sites, removing fishing pressures and reintroducing native species to creating wildlife-friendly gardens, reducing grazing and creating wildlife corridors.
Why is rewilding beneficial?
The aim of rewilding is increasing biodiversity, however, there are also several other benefits to rewilding that help the environment, the climate, and humans.
Photo by Tim Hill, Pixabay
The Rewilding and Climate Breakdown Report found that by restoring and protecting 6 million hectares of land, including native woodland, heaths, species-rich grassland and peat bogs, more than 10% of UK greenhouse gas emissions could be sequestered every year (47 million tonnes of CO2). As well as sequestering carbon, restoring and connecting habitats allows for greater resilience to the impacts of climate change by allowing species to shift their ranges and adapt.
As well as benefiting biodiversity and the climate, there are also direct human benefits through health, wellbeing and even the economy. It has been proven that spending time in nature can have a positive influence on your mental health and even having an increased number of trees and birds in urban areas has been shown to have a positive benefit on people’s mental health. Rewilding will also provide us with more clean water, healthy soil and even cleaner air, all promoting better health. There is also the opportunity for economic benefits through nature-based businesses and tourism.
How does rewilding work?
Rewilding can take many forms. Here are examples of 3 ways that rewilding can work through restoring ancient woodland, regenerating forests and reintroducing native species.
Restoration
Britain has significantly less woodland than the rest of Europe, with only 13% forest cover, compared to 40% in the rest of Europe. Ancient woodland is particularly important for biodiversity, however, it currently only covers 2.4% of the UK. The nature of ancient woodland means that once it is gone, it cannot be replaced, therefore preventing further loss and encouraging restoration is vital. Ancient woodland is threatened by deforestation as well as the introduction of non-native species that can compete with native species as well as introduce diseases. Therefore, a key element of restoring ancient woodland is to first remove these threats by protecting the area from deforestation as well as removing invasive species. This is then followed by a long process of mimicking natural processes and allowing for new growth, through coppicing, preventing over-grazing and in some cases even reintroductions.
Photo by Nejc Košir, Pexels
Regeneration
Natural regeneration is the regeneration of woodland through natural processes such as seed dispersal, rather than human planting, where humans may intervene to assist regeneration, for example fencing off the area from damage and grazing. Natural regeneration is designed to be much less intensive in terms of management, but it also promotes healthier woodlands by having greater complexity, diversity and genetic resilience, as well as allowing better carbon storage. This is a slow process that requires the presence of nearby trees to allow natural seed dispersal and reduced grazing pressure to allow saplings to survive. But, if the conditions are right, natural regeneration can massively increase the amount of natural woodland across Britain.
Reintroductions
In Britain, over the last 30 years, there have been introductions of native birds, amphibians, reptiles and even mammals, including the red kite, pool frog, sand lizard and pine marten as well as the Eurasian beaver. There have also been plant and invertebrate reintroductions, all aiming to restore ecosystems. Some of these reintroductions can prove controversial, with beavers felling trees and causing floods as well as sea eagles occasionally taking young lambs. However, the benefits of reintroductions are often vast and complex, outweighing the costs which can often be easily subsidised. It is estimated that the reintroduction of sea eagles to Scotland, which were first reintroduced in 1975, has created 110 jobs, attracting 1.4m visitors and generating £5m every year, easily outweighing the costs of a compensation scheme.
As well as economic benefits, there have been proven success stories of reintroductions in Britain improving ecosystems. The River Otter Beaver Trial Report conducted by the University of Exeter and Devon Wildlife Trust in 2020 found that Beavers on the River Otter led to significant ecological benefits for the local area, such as wetland creation, supporting many other species and that the benefits through ecosystem engineering and social benefits outweighed the costs of management in a quantifiable cost-benefit analysis.
Photo by Mathias Appell, Flickr
Photo by Chait Goli, Pexels
Given the potential benefits for wildlife, people and even the economy, it is hoped that many more species may soon be reintroduced to Britain. One species currently going through the review process for a reintroduction trial is the Eurasian Lynx. The Lynx UK Trust are preparing to submit their second license application form for a 5-year trial reintroduction in two specially selected sites in the UK. They hope to reintroduce lynx as they are keystone species – a species that have a disproportionate impact on their environment, maintaining balance and regulating the ecosystem. Specifically, lynx are predators and they regulate ecosystems through population control of their prey, predominantly roe deer, which are overly abundant in the UK. By controlling the deer populations, lynx prevent over-grazing, which in turn supports woodland growth and other native species which rely on the forest.
The idea of reintroducing a predator can cause both excitement and fear; however, there has never been a recorded lynx attack on a human. It is estimated that each lynx will only kill around 0.4 sheep per year. Meanwhile, it is expected that lynx would provide a new source of income through tourism, outweighing any costs of mitigation. If the license is granted, a small number of lynx will be reintroduced in the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, near Glasgow and Kielder Forest in Northumberland.
One species that has already had a license approved for a trial reintroduction to Britain is the European Bison. Bison are known as ecosystem engineers due to their ability to create and improve habitats. In this case, Bison encourage a healthy life cycle in the woodland as well as cause gaps in the canopy cover. 3 Bison are expected to arrive at West Blean woods near Canterbury in East Kent in spring 2022 and there will be viewing platforms to encourage members of the public to view them from a safe distance.
Rewilding has already had a large impact on British wildlife, through the successful restoration and regeneration of woodlands as well as the reintroduction of several native species. It is hoped that over the next decade, rewilding will gain even more traction and will continue to make Britain a wilder place.
How can you get involved?
If you would like to know more about rewilding, sign petitions or make donations, then here are some websites to explore:
Thank you to Katie de Lusignan for her incredible illustration. You can view more of her work on her Instagram @myhandsmadethese
Lizzie de Lusignan
Lizzie is an MSci Zoology graduate from the University of Exeter, where she is now employed. She has always loved exploring nature and enjoys coastal walks, especially if there is a chance of spotting a seal! She became interested in the communication of conservation during her degree and since graduating she decided to continue her passion for conservation through writing. She has previously written articles for the Hong Kong-based conservation organisation, Earth.org.