0000000001325884
AUTHOR
Néstor Fernández
Measuring progress towards rewilding
Human domination of land has transformed ecosystems, modified ecological processes and influenced biodiversity composition across most of the terrestrial biosphere. Nevertheless, this global change does not necessarily translate into a total depletion of natural values. Innovative conservation actions are emerging as a promising strategy to enhance biodiversity, ecological resilience and ecosystem service delivery, as well as to retain ecological and evolutionary potential. For instance, rewilding projects have gained increasing attention from scientists, conservationists, practitioners, decision-makers and the media. Recovering the natural dynamics of ecosystems requires increasing ecosyst…
Rewilding: opportunities for boosting large-scale biodiversity restoration in Europe
Failures of conservation policies in place to revert the current loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services urge to expand conservation approaches by seeking new opportunities for harmonizing nature restoration and social and economic needs. Rewilding has emerged as an ambitious solution to restore the integrity of ecological communities, emphasizing the need to switch from policy goals mostly focused on structural components of biodiversity such as species and habitats, towards a more comprehensive consideration of ecosystem processes and the role of species in maintaining these processes. However, contrasting perspectives on the implementation of rewilding goals, as well as misinterpreta…