Photo credit: Southern Plains Land Trust – Just 150 years ago, immense herds of bison roamed the Southern Plains. Protecting and restoring America’s Serengeti gives wildlife a chance to thrive again, image by Karen Voepel
Rewilding rangelands can deliver climate, nature and social resilience
Rangelands – including grasslands, tundra, savannah, woodlands and deserts – cover 54% of the Earth’s landmass and support the livelihoods of millions of people.’
Yet, Rangelands, with their key contributions often overlooked, are considered a highly threatened ecosystem. They are under threat from climate change, unsustainable livestock grazing, habitat conversion for agriculture, afforestation, infrastructure development and mining.
Rewilding is an ecological restoration strategy focused on returning wild animals to play their critical ‘ecosystem engineer’ role in shaping their natural habitats, always with a human-wildlife co-existence perspective.
RANGELANDS CASE STUDIES
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Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative
Kazakhstan
Over 20 years, the Government of Kazakhstan and conservation partners have protected 5+ million hectares of steppe rangelands, restoring migratory routes and recovering 3.9 million Saiga Antelope from near extinction – one of the most significant recoveries of a mammal population ever recorded.
Case study: Golden Steppe Rewilding Partnership
Presentation Slides: Conserving & restoring Kazakhstan‘s rangelands
Rewilding Chile and Tompkins Conservation
Chile
By reducing livestock pressure and restoring native species, including Guanacos, Pumas, Darwin’s Rheas, and Andean Condors, degraded rangelands recovered at scale. Tompkins Conservation donated 500,000 hectares to help create seven national parks, offering a powerful global model for rangeland ecosystem recovery.
Case study: From Rangeland to Wildland
Enonkishu Conservancy
Kenya
The Maasai community set aside land for rewilding while combining traditional practices with solar-powered innovations to almost eliminate livestock predation, proving that degraded rangelands can regenerate under community leadership. A win-win-win for people, cattle, climate, and wildlife.
Case study: Wildlife Conservancy
Peer-reviewed study: Bridging the conservation and development trade-off? A working landscape critique of a conservancy in the Maasai Mara
Presentation Slides: Building Community Resilience Through Wildlife Conservancies
Mali Elephant Landscapes
Mali
Working across 17 communes and six million hectares, this initiative has supported over 800 communities in a conflict-affected region to protect and restore habitat, aligning ecological recovery with local governance and community needs.
Case study: Elephant-Centred Community-Led Natural Resource Management (EC-CLNRM)
Australian Wildlife Conservancy
Australia
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The Corbett Foundation
India
Through participatory, livelihood-linked restoration, degraded land has been transformed into productive native grassland supporting over 70 bird species, 60 insect species, 8 reptile species, and 7 mammal species and providing communities with harvestable grass, reducing grazing pressure.
Case study: Community-Centric Grassland Restoration
Peace Parks Foundation
Southern Africa
The Herding for Health initiative has created over 2,092 jobs, directly benefited 15,430 people, and regenerated seven million hectares by combining sustainable herding, capacity building, and community governance near protected areas. This strengthens livelihoods and fosters human-wildlife coexistence.
Case study: Integrated Rangeland Stewardship
Southern Plains Land Trust
United States
Rewilding large ecologically significant grasslands in symbiosis with wildlife, SPLT provides a safe refuge for wildlife. They have reintroduced Black-footed Ferrets, Beaver, and Bison while preserving the natural processes, fire regimes and nutrient cycling that define these habitats.
Case study: Holistic Landscape-Scale Rewilding
Olson Bison Rewilding Project
Canada
For over 30 years, the Olson family has reintroduced wild-type Bison as a keystone species, with more than 5,000 free-roaming Bison now inhabiting tens of thousands of acres of restored prairie, demonstrating what private land stewardship can achieve to restore ecosystems at large scale, support biodiversity, respect cultural histories, and inform global rewilding practice.
Case study: Reintroducing Bison
American Prairie
United States
Reconnecting vast expanses of native Northern Great Plains grassland, American Prairie supports the return of Bison and diverse wildlife while combining rewilding, science, and long-term vision to safeguard temperate grasslands for future generations.
Case study: Landscape-Scale Grasslands Regeneration
Rangelands resources
Resources produced by the Rangelands Initiative on ‘The Ecological Uplift’. Rewilding can restitute the ecological processes that make rangeland ecosystems functional.
The Ecological Uplift
Rangelands, including grasslands, tundra, savannah, woodlands and deserts, are increasingly degraded. Rewilding rangelands can deliver climate, nature and social resilience. This briefing focuses on the contribution wild animals make to the resilience of rangelands worldwide.
The Rewilding Rangelands Initiative
Rewilding offers a clear path toward restoring ecological functionality in grassy ecosystems. Translating that path into durable change requires coordinated effort across disciplines, sectors, and geographies. The Rewilding Rangelands Initiative advances that work through two complementary strategies.
Insights & Updates
Centro Mexicano de Rehabilitación de Primates: Bringing Back the Swing and Howl to Mexico’s Forests
Simona, one of the monkeys in rehabilitation, enjoying a mango. Photo credit: CMRP.The Centro Mexicano de Rehabilitación de Primates (CMRP) rescues, rehabilitates, and releases endangered primates, including Spider and Howler Monkeys, in Mexico. Facing threats from...
Wildlife Research and Conservation Society: Science and Coexistence Across Western and Central India
Asian Elephants. Credit: WRCSThe Wildlife Research and Conservation Society (WRCS) in India fosters human-wildlife harmony through community-based solutions. In areas of human-elephant conflict, they use low-cost methods like early alerts, chilli deterrents, and...
The Rewilders: Restoring the Ancient Pulse of the Aravallis
Common Castor (Ariadne merione) Butterly. Credits: The RewildersThe Rewilders, a Global Rewilding Alliance partner in India, are regenerating 1500 acres of fragmented, mined Aravalli landscapes into thriving ecosystems. Led by Vijay Dhasmana, their work at the...
Sahyadri Sankalp Society: Helping the Mountains and Their Dwellers Stand Tall
Hornbill perched on a tree branch. Credit: Sahyadri Sankalp SocietyThe Sahyadri Sankalp Society, operating in India’s Western Ghats, is a non-profit dedicated to integrating community prosperity with nature restoration in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. A central...
Freyja Foundation: a legacy for the wild
Credit: Hernán PovedanoThe Freyja Foundation is a charitable organization focused on large-scale rewilding and community empowerment in Patagonia, Argentina, and Chile. In Argentina’s Patagonia Park, they have helped transform over 180,000 hectares of degraded...
Wildlife Preservation Canada: Durrell’s Legacy Lives On
Bumble Bee Release After Identification. Credit: Alex Bowman - WPCWildlife Preservation Canada (WPC), established in 1985 by Gerald Durrell, is Canada's leading organization dedicated to preventing species extinction. WPC utilizes a hands-on, science-led "Durrell...
Saksfjed Wilderness: The Return of Giants to Denmark
In Saksfjed Vildmark, Tauros bulls have been released - the species closest to the extinct aurochs. Photo: Frederik Josefsen - Saksfjed Vidlmark / Hempel FoundationThe Hempel Foundation’s The Wilderness in Denmark restores 2,500 ha of former farmland into...
Manaaki Kaimai Mamaku Trust: Restoring the Mauri of a significant New Zealand Forest
Pikopiko, young coiled fern fronds foraged for eating in Spring. Credit: Cam Neate for Manaaki Kaimai Mamaku TrustThe Manaaki Kaimai Mamaku Trust is a co-governed organization dedicated to restoring the mauri (life force) of the 37,000-hectare Kaimai Mamaku park in...
The Ecological Uplift
The Ecological Uplift of Rangelands is built on 3 core pillars
Image credit – James Alfaro
1.
More wildlife to rebuild the ecological foundation of rangelands
Image credit – Peace Parks Foundation
2.
Wilder working landscape embracing coexistence and regenerative practices
Image credit – The Corbett Foundation
3.
Enhanced ecosystem services because healthy rangelands sustain billions of lives
Our Alliance Partners and allies are uniting to bring a rewilding perspective on rangelands issues as a scientifically sound, socially responsible approach to enhance the ecological and economic value of rangelands across the world to the benefit of people, nature and climate.
A collaboration of Alliance Partners and experts have joined the Rangelands Working Group, including:
Plus expert representatives from Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences; Nelson Mandela University (South Africa); Utrecht University (The Netherlands); Conservation International (USA); University of Cape Town (South Africa).
Ibrahim Thiaw – UNCCD Executive Secretary, Preface to Global Land Outlook: Thematic Report on Rangelands and Pastoralists
2026: The International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists
The Global Rewilding Alliance is actively contributing to this agenda:
How rewilding informs a shared future for global rangeland and pastoralism frameworks. Read more
Led by UN University Bonn – evaluating rewilding and six other approaches for ecosystem health, food security, and human well-being.
Read more
Bringing the wild back to our lands
Stay up to date with insights and findings from our global working groups on key rewilding themes.
