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Event type
Previous Event
Event status
Passed
Dates
13 October 2020 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Duration
1h
Location
Price
Free

This event discussed the current research and conceptual priorities for rewilding to be broadly adopted by legislators and practitioners.

Focus was brought on the UK, a country whose decision to leave the European Union has triggered a significant reshaping of the environmental policy landscape, thereby opening policy windows for rewilding to become part of the national toolkit for boosting biodiversity.

Rewilding has emerged as a captivating, but controversial, concept in conservation.

Depending on how rewilding is defined, it aims to increase “wildness” of nature, regenerate ecosystem functioning, develop self-sustaining ecosystems, or achieve a combination of these.

The concept is however gaining traction, particularly in the UK: several conservation NGOs have started to implement rewilding projects and/or develop policies or institutional strategies anchored on the tenets of rewilding.

Others have started promoting rewilding as a principle in conservation legislation, and intergovernmental entities such as the Convention on Biological Diversity have been exploring the potential for rewilding to contribute to biodiversity conservation goals.

To date, however, relatively little legislation, policy and best-practice guidance for rewilding exists, and other concepts, such as natural capital, are also appealing to policy makers keen to identify environmental management approaches that benefit wildlife and people.

Speakers

  • Henrike Schulte to Bühne, Institute of Zoology, ZSL and Imperial College London: "The policy consequences of defining rewilding"
  • Paul JepsonEcosulis Ltd"Aligning rewilding and natural capital to create ambitious nature recovery policy"
  • William Farren, Institute of Zoology, ZSL and University of Reading: "Megafauna and Rewilding: Importance, Practicalities and Potential"

Watch the event

Event details
  • This interactive online event was livestreamed to our YouTube channel
  • Each online event comprises 3-4 presentations from experts on the chosen topic
  • There was no charge for this event, and no need to register in advance to watch the livestream
  • This event was hosted by Dr Nathalie Pettorelli, Institute of Zoology ZSL.
  • This event was facilitated and coordinated by Charlotte Coales, Tendai Pottinger and Eleanor Darbey
Resources
Contact details
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