Can Rewilding Save Our Ecosystems?

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As the climate crisis intensifies and biodiversity continues to decline, a bold solution has emerged from the conservation world: rewilding. This practice involves restoring natural ecosystems by allowing landscapes to return to a more self-sustaining, wild state.

In this Article

What is Rewilding?

Rewilding is a conservation approach that allows ecosystems to recover naturally by removing human pressures and reintroducing key species. It is often defined by three core principles:

Letting Nature Lead: allowing natural processes such as flooding, predation, and regeneration to shape the landscape.
Restoring Keystone Species: reintroducing species that have a disproportionately large effect on ecosystems (e.g., wolves, beavers).
Creating Connectivity: ensuring that animals and plants can move freely between habitats.

Rewilding is a relatively new term but draws on deep ecological theory and real-world experimentation. It shifts away from simply managing nature and instead gives ecosystems the space to rebalance themselves.

UK Rewilding Projects

Despite being rich in history and culture, the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. Intensive agriculture, urban development, and infrastructure have damaged and reduced natural habitats. Rewilding offers a chance to reverse that trend. Today, several bold rewilding projects aim to change that, for example:

1. Knepp Estate, West Sussex

Once a struggling dairy and arable farm, Knepp is now one of the UK’s best-known rewilding projects. Instead of sowing crops, the land is grazed by free-roaming animals like longhorn cattle, Tamworth pigs, and Exmoor ponies. This has led:

Nightingales, turtle doves, and purple emperor butterflies have returned.
Improved soil quality and water retention.
Ecotourism and wild meat sales fund the project.

Interested in how rewilding at Knepp has transformed the environment? Wilding by Isabella Tree offers a compelling first-hand account of the journey.

Available in:

2. The Scottish Highlands

Scotland offers some of the UK’s best opportunities for large-scale rewilding. Organisations like Trees for Life are working to restore the ancient Caledonian forest and bring back lost species.

Key actions:

Planting native pine, rowan, and birch trees.
Reintroducing red squirrels, beavers, and possibly lynx.
Reconnecting fragmented woodlands.

These actions also help control deer numbers, which often overgraze and prevent natural regeneration.

Global Rewilding Success Stories

1. Yellowstone National Park, USA

In 1995, wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone after being absent for 70 years. Their return triggered a top-down ecological chain reaction.

Effects:

Elk numbers dropped, allowing willow and aspen to regrow.
Songbirds and beavers returned as new habitats formed.
Even rivers changed course due to less erosion.

2. Iberá Wetlands, Argentina

Once drained and degraded, the Iberá Wetlands are now thriving thanks to rewilding.

Jaguars, tapirs, and giant anteaters are being reintroduced.
Ecotourism is supporting local communities.
Wetlands are storing carbon and preventing wildfires.

Why Rewilding Matters for Biodiversity

Biodiversity is essential to healthy ecosystems. The more species an ecosystem has, the more stable and productive it becomes. Rewilding restores:

Trophic levels e.g. top predators and decomposers.
Ecosystem services like pollination, flood control, and soil health.
Genetic diversity, helping species adapt to change.

Rewilding and Climate Resilience

Rewilding doesn’t just benefit wildlife, it plays a powerful role in making our planet more resilient to climate change. As temperatures rise and extreme weather becomes more common, restoring natural ecosystems can help protect both nature and people.

1. Capturing Carbon Naturally

Rewilded landscapes absorb and store carbon dioxide (CO₂), one of the main greenhouse gases driving climate change. This process is known as carbon sequestration.

Woodlands absorb CO₂ through photosynthesis and store it in tree trunks, roots, and soil.
Peatlands lock away carbon for thousands of years, as long as they remain wet and undisturbed.
Seagrass meadows and salt marshes (in coastal rewilding projects) absorb carbon even faster than forests per square metre.

2. Reducing Flood Risk

Natural ecosystems manage water far more effectively than concrete flood defences.

Beavers build dams that slow down river flow and create wetlands, reducing the risk of flash floods.
Reconnected floodplains allow rivers to overflow safely during heavy rainfall, rather than bursting through urban areas.
Wooded hillsides absorb more rain than bare soil, helping prevent landslides and erosion.

3. Minimising Wildfire Risk

Diverse, healthy ecosystems are more resistant to wildfires.

Mosaic landscapes: a mix of wetlands, woodland, and grassland create natural firebreaks.
Grazing animals in rewilded areas help keep dry grasses under control, reducing fuel for fires.
Moist habitats like bogs and wet meadows are far less flammable.

How You Can Help

Rewilding isn’t just for scientists or estates. You can support nature recovery in your own space or community.

Plant Native Wildflowers to attract bees, butterflies and birds by planting UK-native species. Shop Wildflowers seed pack here.
Install a Wildlife Camera and see what visits your garden at night. Hedgehogs, badgers, foxes and owls are common in many UK areas.

Conclusion

Rewilding offers a hopeful, practical response to environmental crises. From small gardens to vast national parks, letting nature recover could be one of the most powerful tools we have, for biodiversity, for climate, and for future generations.

Whether you’re a student, teacher, or nature lover, rewilding is a story of resilience and it’s still being written.

Planet Pulse

Can Rewilding Save Our Ecosystems?

What is Rewilding?