A commentary on rewilding in Europe

• Published date: 01 August 2020
• Author: Daphne Comfort,Peter Jones
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2071
• Date: 01 August 2020

COMMENTARY

A commentary on rewilding in Europe

Peter Jones | Daphne Comfort

School of Business and Technology, University

of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, UK

Correspondence

Peter Jones, University of Gloucestershire,

Cheltenham, UK.

Email: pjones@glos.ac.uk

As relationships between people and nature are being reassessed, not least as con-

cerns about climate change gather increasing momentum, so a range of environmen-

tal and conservation themes are moving up public and political agendas. Rewilding,

simply defined as increasing the role of natural processes within landscapes, is one

such theme. This commentary paper outlines the variety of definitions and origins of

the concept of rewilding, illustrates some of the elements of rewilding within Europe,

and offers some general reflections on the rewilding process. The paper suggests that

although many benefits have been claimed for moves to increase the role of natural

processes within landscapes and environments, rewilding faces several challenges, in

that it means different things to different people, public perceptions of rewilding can

generate unease, hostility, and concern and it has only limited scientific support. At

the same time, there is no clear statutory policies to guide the rewilding process. As

such, rewilding organisations may increasingly look to communication and public rela-

tions to garner public and financial support for their cause.

1|INTRODUCTION

As relationships between people and nature are being reassessed,

not least as concerns about climate change gather increasing

momentum, so a range of environmental and conservation themes

are moving up public and political agendas. Rewilding, simply

defined as increasing the role of natural processes within land-

scapes, is one such theme. Souter (2019), claimed “the rewilding

movement has been gaining momentum over the last few years,

propelled into the wider public eye by books such as Feral by

George Monbiot (2013) and later Wilding by Isabella Tree (2018).”

Jepson and Schepers (2016) claimed “rewilding expresses a new

appreciation of wild nature”and “it represents a growing movement

in Europe of people seeking a counterweight to our increasingly reg-

ulated lives, society and landscapes.”Atthesametime,Brown,

McMorran, and Price (2012) suggested that rewilding was “receiving

a great deal of practical and political attention,”though it has also

been described as a “relatively new but contested discourse”

(Pellis & de Jong, 2016). With these thoughts in mind, this commen-

tary paper outlines the variety of definitions and origins of the con-

cept of rewilding, illustrates some of the rewilding projects within

Europe, and offers some general reflections on the rewilding

process.

2|THE CONCEPT OF REWILDING

For some people, the term rewilding conjures up images of wolves,

wildcats, and bears and, to a lesser extent, golden eagles, beavers, and

wild pigs, but there are a wide range of rewilding opportunities.

Reduced management alone may achieve the restoration of natural

processes, or the process maybe actively developed. At one end of

this spectrum, where seed sources no longer exist in an area, trees

can be planted to facilitate vegetation succession, and rivers can be

restocked with fish. At the other end, the introduction and

reintroduction of carnivores and herbivores can also help to restore

natural processes.

That said, there is little consensus on the definition of the term

rewilding. Lorimer et al. (2015), for example, claimed “the term

rewilding has been applied to diverse concepts and practices”and

Jepson (2015) suggested “the term rewilding is gaining traction in con-

servation science and policy but lacks easy definition.”Jorgensen

(2015), noted “the term rewilding sounds as if it should have a

straightforward meaning ‘to make wild again.’But in truth the term

has a complex history and a host of meanings have been ascribed to

it.”Wentworth and Alison (2016) defined rewilding as “reinstating

natural processes that would have occurred in the absence of human

activity,”whereas for Nogués-Bravo, Simberloff, Rahbek, and Sanders

Received: 16 December 2019 Accepted: 16 December 2019

DOI: 10.1002/pa.2071

J Public Affairs. 2020;20:e2071. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 1of6

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2071