At this year's PlantLife debate, a panel comprising Professor Dieter Helm (University of Oxford), Clare Pillman (Chief Executive Natural Resources Wales), Dr. Trevor Dines (PlantLife Botanical Specialist) and Ecosulis Nature Recovery Lead Dr. Paul Jepson discussed the question of whether rewilding works for plants. The following blog is based on Dr. Paul Jepson's response.
Co-authored by Ecosulis Nature Recovery Lead Dr. Paul Jepson, a new paper by Oxford University scientists suggests that the landscape-scale rewilding of the Arctic tundra is economically viable and could play a significant role in slowing global warming.
Rewilding offers solutions to our current climate and nature emergencies. Today 15 leading European rewilding organisations are calling for a wilder Europe and the inclusion of rewilding in the European Green Deal and EU Biodiversity Strategy post-2020.
A call to collaborate
By providing and enhancing nature-based solutions, the restoration of wild nature can help us address some of society's greatest challenges.
As "nature's engineers", beavers can be useful partners in flood mitigation.
A growing realisation
The recently released Glover Review calls for radical changes in the way England's underperforming national parks are managed. Those changes should be based on the comprehensive and cutting edge assessment of both biodiversity and people.
Snowdonia National Park. Photo: Daniel Allen
Seizing the moment
A new scientific paper reveals the huge value-generating potential of Brazilian protected areas. As the first high-profile application of the Natural Asset Framework, the analysis has worldwide implications.
Protected Areas - both in Brazil and across the world - could generate far more value for both nature and people. Image: Daniel Allen
Framework first
The London-based team took the contest's £5000 prize with their proposal for an automated mink eradication device. Ecosulis will now collaborate with Citizen Zoo to develop their concept further.
Scalable system
A proposal for an automated mink eradication device has helped Citizen Zoo win the inaugural Ecosulis Tech Contest. The first prize of £5000 was awarded to the team at the beginning of August.
In the UK's newest national park, the restoration of landscapes and wildlife populations is generating a range of benefits.
Boosting resilience
The South Downs are often referred to as the lungs of southeast England - a bucolic swathe of greenery edged by an iconic coastal margin. Gently undulating hills, dazzling chalk cliffs, wildflower-filled ancient woodlands - the stunning landscapes of Sussex and Hampshire are what attract so many people to live and visit.
The Ecosulis Tech Challenge, which closed on April 5, generated a number of interesting submissions encompassing a wide range of rewilding-related technologies. While the quality and potential of these submissions was high, the Ecosulis judging panel felt that five of the most promising entries would benefit from further development. The panel has now provided feedback, with the five entries to be judged again - and the winner announced - in the early summer.
