Rewilding
Many natural processes have been interrupted, damaged or broken by man:
- through the damming, straightening, widening and deepening of rivers
- the burning of peatland
- the draining of wetlands
- the extermination of predators
- the killing and conserving of species according to our desires
- the introduction of non-native species
- deforestation.
Rewilding is about working with nature to get natural processes working again. A key principle of rewilding is acknowledging that nature may not need our intervention and that it can lead its own recovery. Nature knows what it wants, and it has evolved instinctively to its niche. If humans can recognise, restore and harness the missing or damaged natural processes, then nature will create its own natural abundance, and 'wilder' wildlife by default.
Rewilding is when an area is restored to its naturally occurring state, usually though changes in management and/or the reintroduction of species which had been lost from a particular area.
Rewilding projects can be implemented on a spectrum from species reintroduction to unmanaging habitats completely and leaving nature to its own devices.