Guiding principles for rewilding

Steve Carver; Ian Convery; Sally Hawkins; Rene Beyers; Adam Eagle; Zoltan Kun; Erwin Van Maanen; Yue Cao; Mark Fisher; Stephen R. Edwards; Cara Nelson; George D. Gann; Steve Shurter; Karina Aguilar; Angela Andrade; William J. Ripple; John Davis; Anthony Sinclair; Marc Bekoff; Reed Noss; Dave Foreman; Hanna Pettersson; Meredith Root-Bernstein; Jens Christian Svenning; Peter Taylor; Sophie Wynne-Jones; Alan Watson Featherstone; Camilla Fløjgaard; Mark Stanley-Price; Laetitia M. Navarro; Toby Aykroyd; Alison Parfitt; Michael Soulé

doi:10.1111/cobi.13730

Guiding principles for rewilding

Steve Carver
, Ian Convery
, Sally Hawkins
, Rene Beyers
, Adam Eagle
, Zoltan Kun
, Erwin Van Maanen
, Yue Cao
, Mark Fisher
, Stephen R. Edwards
, Cara Nelson
, George D. Gann
, Steve Shurter
, Karina Aguilar
, Angela Andrade
, William J. Ripple
, John Davis
, Anthony Sinclair
, Marc Bekoff
, Reed Noss

Dave Foreman, Hanna Pettersson, Meredith Root-Bernstein, Jens Christian Svenning, Peter Taylor, Sophie Wynne-Jones, Alan Watson Featherstone, Camilla Fløjgaard, Mark Stanley-Price, Laetitia M. Navarro, Toby Aykroyd, Alison Parfitt, Michael Soulé

Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences

University of Leeds
University of Cumbria
University of British Columbia
The Lifescape Project
Wild Europe
Rewilding Foundation
Tsinghua University
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
The Institute for Regional Conservation
Society for Ecological Restoration
White Oak Conservation
Agencia Metropolitana de Bosques Urbanos del AMG
Conservation International Colombia
Oregon State University
The Rewilding Institute
University of Colorado Boulder
Florida Institute for Conservation Science
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Universidad de Chile
Aarhus University
Bangor University
Freelance Ecologist
University of Oxford
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
Wild Europe
Society for Conservation Biology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

222 Scopus citations

Abstract

There has been much recent interest in the concept of rewilding as a tool for nature conservation, but also confusion over the idea, which has limited its utility. We developed a unifying definition and 10 guiding principles for rewilding through a survey of 59 rewilding experts, a summary of key organizations’ rewilding visions, and workshops involving over 100 participants from around the world. The guiding principles convey that rewilding exits on a continuum of scale, connectivity, and level of human influence and aims to restore ecosystem structure and functions to achieve a self-sustaining autonomous nature. These principles clarify the concept of rewilding and improve its effectiveness as a tool to achieve global conservation targets, including those of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. Finally, we suggest differences in rewilding perspectives lie largely in the extent to which it is seen as achievable and in specific interventions. An understanding of the context of rewilding projects is the key to success, and careful site-specific interpretations will help achieve the aims of rewilding.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1882-1893
Number of pages	12
Journal	Conservation Biology
Volume	35
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13730
State	Published - Dec 2021

Funding

We acknowledge the support of the IUCN CEM and those rewilding pioneers and experts who responded to the survey, took part in workshops, or both. We also acknowledge the helpful comments of the reviewers and journal editors. We dedicate this paper to the memory of Michael Soulé and Alison Parfitt. In their own ways they both contributed greatly to conservation science and the preparation of this article. We cherish their friendship and mourn their passing.

Keywords

definition
ecosystem management
goals
guiding principles
rewilding

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10.1111/cobi.13730

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Carver, S., Convery, I., Hawkins, S., Beyers, R., Eagle, A., Kun, Z., Van Maanen, E., Cao, Y., Fisher, M., Edwards, S. R., Nelson, C., Gann, G. D., Shurter, S., Aguilar, K., Andrade, A., Ripple, W. J., Davis, J., Sinclair, A., Bekoff, M., ... Soulé, M. (2021). Guiding principles for rewilding. Conservation Biology, 35(6), 1882-1893. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13730

@article{f2078ad9b2b447659597bebc86cd2fdc,

title = "Guiding principles for rewilding",

abstract = "There has been much recent interest in the concept of rewilding as a tool for nature conservation, but also confusion over the idea, which has limited its utility. We developed a unifying definition and 10 guiding principles for rewilding through a survey of 59 rewilding experts, a summary of key organizations{\textquoteright} rewilding visions, and workshops involving over 100 participants from around the world. The guiding principles convey that rewilding exits on a continuum of scale, connectivity, and level of human influence and aims to restore ecosystem structure and functions to achieve a self-sustaining autonomous nature. These principles clarify the concept of rewilding and improve its effectiveness as a tool to achieve global conservation targets, including those of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. Finally, we suggest differences in rewilding perspectives lie largely in the extent to which it is seen as achievable and in specific interventions. An understanding of the context of rewilding projects is the key to success, and careful site-specific interpretations will help achieve the aims of rewilding.",

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author = "Steve Carver and Ian Convery and Sally Hawkins and Rene Beyers and Adam Eagle and Zoltan Kun and \{Van Maanen\}, Erwin and Yue Cao and Mark Fisher and Edwards, \{Stephen R.\} and Cara Nelson and Gann, \{George D.\} and Steve Shurter and Karina Aguilar and Angela Andrade and Ripple, \{William J.\} and John Davis and Anthony Sinclair and Marc Bekoff and Reed Noss and Dave Foreman and Hanna Pettersson and Meredith Root-Bernstein and Svenning, \{Jens Christian\} and Peter Taylor and Sophie Wynne-Jones and Featherstone, \{Alan Watson\} and Camilla Fl{\o}jgaard and Mark Stanley-Price and Navarro, \{Laetitia M.\} and Toby Aykroyd and Alison Parfitt and Michael Soul{\'e}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology",

year = "2021",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1111/cobi.13730",

language = "English",

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Carver, S, Convery, I, Hawkins, S, Beyers, R, Eagle, A, Kun, Z, Van Maanen, E, Cao, Y, Fisher, M, Edwards, SR, Nelson, C, Gann, GD, Shurter, S, Aguilar, K, Andrade, A, Ripple, WJ, Davis, J, Sinclair, A, Bekoff, M, Noss, R, Foreman, D, Pettersson, H, Root-Bernstein, M, Svenning, JC, Taylor, P, Wynne-Jones, S, Featherstone, AW, Fløjgaard, C, Stanley-Price, M, Navarro, LM, Aykroyd, T, Parfitt, A & Soulé, M 2021, 'Guiding principles for rewilding', Conservation Biology, vol. 35, no. 6, pp. 1882-1893. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13730

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AU - Carver, Steve

AU - Convery, Ian

AU - Hawkins, Sally

AU - Beyers, Rene

AU - Eagle, Adam

AU - Kun, Zoltan

AU - Van Maanen, Erwin

AU - Cao, Yue

AU - Fisher, Mark

AU - Edwards, Stephen R.

AU - Nelson, Cara

AU - Gann, George D.

AU - Shurter, Steve

AU - Aguilar, Karina

AU - Andrade, Angela

AU - Ripple, William J.

AU - Davis, John

AU - Sinclair, Anthony

AU - Bekoff, Marc

AU - Noss, Reed

AU - Foreman, Dave

AU - Pettersson, Hanna

AU - Root-Bernstein, Meredith

AU - Svenning, Jens Christian

AU - Taylor, Peter

AU - Wynne-Jones, Sophie

AU - Featherstone, Alan Watson

AU - Fløjgaard, Camilla

AU - Stanley-Price, Mark

AU - Navarro, Laetitia M.

AU - Aykroyd, Toby

AU - Parfitt, Alison

AU - Soulé, Michael

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KW - ecosystem management

KW - goals

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Guiding principles for rewilding

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