Photo credit: Seread via Getty Images
Rewilding is happening now all over the world, both on land and at sea, bringing back key species and restoring entire ecosystems at all scales. We are part of a growing, global and hopeful movement.
In this article, we introduce you to three rewilding organisations from our network so that you can hear each week about some of the exciting success stories, challenges and ambitious aims.
We warmly welcome three new Alliance Partners: Ferncliffe forest wilding, Blue Alliance and Rewilding America Now.
Photo credit: Connor Cullinan, Ferncliffe forest wilding
The five-kilogram keystone species helping to restore balance between predators, prey and plants
Partner Organisation: Ferncliffe forest wilding
Location: KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Who would think that a small, extremely charming herbivore could influence the future of the most powerful eagle in Africa?
The Rock Hyrax (Procavia capensis) or “Dassie” is not endangered, but populations of this plump, rabbit-like animal plummeted in parts of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa in the 1990s, when colonies were struck by disease.
One such colony lived in a rocky area where new Alliance Partner Ferncliffe forest wilding (FFW) is working to restore the exceptionally rich mistbelt forest habitat. The site had become overgrown with invasive species since dassies last lived here, over 30 years ago. The knock-on effects of their absence were quickly seen. A small antelope called the Blue Duiker was over-predated. Crowned Eagles, which feed on Dassies, stopped breeding in long-occupied nesting sites. There was also less food for cat species, such as the Caracal.
FFW set to work to restore the former Dassie colony habitat. As the restoration process progressed, an intrepid trio of Dassies moved in of their own accord. If a new colony flourishes, it will show how quickly positive change can occur when nature itself is given the space to drive recovery.
Rewilding doesn’t always require species reintroduction – sometimes preparing the ground for recovery is enough.
Photo credit: Getty Images Pro
The Return of Megafauna – Horses in Rewilding
Partner Organisation: Rewilding America Now
Location: USA
For new Alliance Partner Rewilding America Now, horses are an intrinsic part of their rewilding: their mission is to conserve and restore the North American landscape through rewilding, with a focus on wild horses as a keystone species.
Rewilding America Now fosters partnerships with tribal nations and incorporates traditional ecological knowledge to the heart of their work, and using science-backed research, advocates for public policy that protects wild horses and allocates new resources for breakthrough rewilding initiatives.
Why? Wild horses play an important ecological role in grassland and semi-forest open ecosystems, combatting woody encroachment on landscapes and allowing space for a variety of grasses, bushes, wildflowers and herbs, and thus insects and birds. Through trampling and wallowing, they act as ecosystem engineers, creating different ‘microhabitats’. Their presence in these ecosystems, therefore, has an impact on countless other species both big and small, from the soil that absorbs nutrients and seeds from their dung to the skies where native birds soar in search of prey.
Modern grasslands are the product of complex interactions, developed over millions of years, between plants and their consumers. They are not only well adapted to the presence of large, bulk-feeding mammals, but also ecologically dependent on these species for optimal functioning. Feral horses of the American West are the direct descendants of their Pleistocene predecessors. Along with bison, these species both co-evolved among perennial grass environments. These “megaherbivores” progressively developed dental and gut adaptations that allow them to efficiently process the high-fiber, low-nutrition plants typical of grasslands. In return, foraging megaherbivores stimulate the growth of new grass leaves, act as seed distributors, adding manure and overturning the soil. They also migrate across their ranges over the course of their annual cycles. This behaviour is beneficial, because it reduces or eliminates local degradation. The end result is a remarkably self-sustaining system.
More research is needed to further develop our understanding of how horses interact with ecosystems and the role that they might play in our rewilding future, but there is evidence to suggest that rewilding horses might go beyond increasing biodiversity, to climate change and wildfire mitigation. Key research has already been done on the role of other megafauna species and their crucial role in Animating the Carbon Cycle.
Watch their wonderful short film to hear from the team themselves.
Photo credit: Artush via Canva
Financing Marine Protection
Partner Organisation: Blue Alliance Marine Protected Areas
Location: Philippines, Indonesia, Zanzibar, and Belize
Blue Alliance has an ambitious vision: to regenerate vital coral reef ecosystems, safeguard marine biodiversity, protect threatened species, and enhance the lives of local communities. All at once.
This sounds like a lot, and it is, but by working with local communities, as well as local governments and partners, they are able to collaborate to bring about big change. They help to build and manage Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) so that coral reef ecosystems and all of the marine species that depend on them can regenerate alongside an improvement to the lives of local communities.
Integral to this ambitious vision is that Blue Alliance is bridging the marine conservation financing gap through creating innovative, Blue Economy reef-positive businesses in and around the MPAs.
Its MPAs currently span marine ecosystems in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Zanzibar protecting up to 70 threatened species. And the numbers reflect Blue Alliance’s positive impact: it is helping to recover 1 million hectares of coral reef ecosystems, to regenerate 300,000 hectares of mangrove forests, and there are 21,000 coastal community members with enhanced livelihoods.
The Hon. Mayor Marilou Morillo, City of Calapan in the Philippines, says: “the partnership between the City Government of Calapan and Blue Alliance goes beyond mere protection… it also extends into the heart of our community through livelihood programs designed to foster sustainable practices such as the development of crab and sea cucumber hatcheries. Our collaborative efforts also emphasise raising public awareness through an extensive environmental information education campaign.”
People are at the heart of rewilding.
We hope that you enjoyed getting to know a handful of our Alliance Partners. More to come!
See their websites here:
- Blue Alliance https://bluealliance.earth/
- Rewilding America Now https://www.rewildingamericanow.org/
- Ferncliffe forest wilding https://ferncliffe.org/
Extra Reading
Garrido P, Mårell A, Öckinger E, Skarin A, Jansson A, Thulin C-G. Experimental rewilding enhances grassland functional composition and pollinator habitat use. J Appl Ecol. 2019;56:946–955.
Linnartz, L., R. Meissner & R. Lemoine (2023). Rewilding horses in Europe. Background and guidelines – a living document. Publication by Rewilding Europe, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.