What is rewilding?

Together, we can bring the wild back.

Rewilding is exactly what it sounds like.

Rewilding, a positive reframing for nature conservation, involves holistic solutions to remove barriers and reestablish vibrant wildlife populations and intact, functional, and resilient ecosystems that effectively integrate people. Rewilding means the mass recovery of ecosystems and the life-supporting function they provide.

Rewilding also means changing the way we think. Humans are part of the wild. We are one species among many, bound together in an intricate web of life that ties us to the atmosphere, the weather, the tide, the soils, the freshwater, the oceans, and all living creatures on the planet. The Earth is our home. Together, we can protect and restore it.

Rewilding occurs in three key ways.

Habitat Restoration

We return degraded or fragmented habitats to their natural state by removing barriers, such as dams or fences, and letting the wild shape the landscape. Habitat restoration may also involve reestablishing natural water flows, reforestation, and restoring wetlands or grasslands.

Species Reintroduction

We restore balance to the wild by returning native species to ecosystems where populations have either disappeared or been severely reduced. Species reintroductions are often supported by conservation breeding programs.

person in a uniform guarding a gorilla habitat

Ecological Management

Active land management supports ecosystems in various stages of recovery and helps ensure the successful reintroduction of species. Human beings are part of the wild, and critical to its protection.