Feed: a food systems podcast What is rewilding? (rebroadcast)
Feb 15, 2024
Walter Fraanje, a research and communications officer, dives into rewilding and its ecological implications. He explains how rewilding differs from traditional conservation, highlighting its potential to combat climate change and biodiversity loss. Walter shares fascinating examples, such as the roles of wolves in Yellowstone and innovative projects in Europe and South Africa. He discusses the complex relationship between rewilding and agriculture, addressing farmer concerns, indigenous rights, and the transformative power of rewilding on personal and community levels.
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Context Shapes Rewilding Outcomes
- Rewilding practice varies with geography, politics and land size, shaping what is feasible and acceptable locally.
- Projects driven by distant philanthropists can clash with local communities' land uses and values.
Human Presence Is A Central Debate
- Rewilding historically leaned toward excluding humans, but critics pushed for inclusive, participatory approaches.
- Today many projects debate whether to fence, restrict access, or co-design with local people.
Which Past — Or Future — Guides Rewilding?
- Baselines matter: some rewilders reference the Pleistocene while others use Holocene or Anthropocene frames.
- Many now favour future-oriented 'Anthropocene rewilding' that accepts irreversible human impacts.
