‘Rewilding’ has become a bit of a buzzword. Even the definition is widely debated. Within Wild Card, we’ve come to agree that:
“To rewild the land and water is to allow untamed life to return to ecosystems and landscapes, such that they are once again sustained by the natural processes that created them in the first place.”
And we admit that ‘In restoring these processes, human intervention may be required.’
But why is it so important right now? And how does it relate to justice everywhere, for everyone, and everything?
What is rewilding and how does it relate to climate change?
The UK has lost nearly half of its animal and plant species since the Industrial Revolution. Despite myths of a ‘green and pleasant land’, our nature is in a perilous state, with Britain ranking 189th out of 218 countries for biodiversity intactness. We are simultaneously facing a climate catastrophe on an unprecedented scale.
Biodiversity loss happens for many reasons: habitat destruction, invasive species, overexploitation (hunting pressure), pollution and climate change. resulting in environments that are less resilient, more fragile and prone to collapse. We can think of climate change and biodiversity loss as twin challenges, inextricably linked. The heating of the planet due to climate change only exacerbates these effects, whilst intact systems are able to store carbon, ultimately cooling the planet.
Let’s consider global food production. £480bn of food is pollinated by wild pollinators each year, and four billion people depend on natural medicines for healthcare. Every day, habitats are destroyed to make way for land-intensive agriculture, like meat, that provides very little protein per acre. Coupled with the habitat loss to make way for the animals, this land is often left in dire ecological condition, or waterways heavily polluted, making them much less resilient in the face of extreme weather events. Not only are we destroying the ecosystems, but the wildlife species that play key roles in facilitating carbon capture.
Nature is our life-support system, dictating our ability to grow food and drink clean water. When biodiversity suffers, we suffer.
How does this impact communities?
The global picture
When crops fail, people often have no choice but to move. In the last 30 years, the number of days exceeding 50C has already doubled, and more than half the world’s population live in countries experiencing the most severe heat and water stress. The UN International Organization for Migration projects there will be nearly 1 billion climate refugees by 2050 (with others citing more). With the poorest countries and communities experiencing the worst effects of climate change, there is no denying that the global climate crisis is a racial justice crisis.
As Tendayi Achiume, UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, writes in her 2022 report to the General Assembly:
“The nations least capable of mitigating and responding to ecological crisis have been rendered so both by histories of colonial domination, and by externally imposed neoliberal and other economic policies in the postcolonial era,”
Only through the lens of racial and social justice can we address the urgent issues of environmental catastrophe with the approach needed to ensure real and tangible change.
Impact at home
The impacts of climate change are already being felt on these shores. Record breaking heat last year literally melted parts of the national rail network, causing widespread disruption, and nearly 25,000 wildfires were reported across the UK. Smoke from these fires causes long-term health issues, more so for those less able to get up and leave. And yet, winter rainfall has also been steadily increasing, causing over 21,000 properties flooded in 2015 alone. Disruption triggered by extreme weather can cause misery and despair, especially when it’s a repeat event. According to Friends of the Earth UK,
“over 700,000 people in the 10% most socially vulnerable neighbourhoods are at risk of river, coastal, or surface water flooding because of their location and a probable lack of flood defences, with people of colour disproportionately affected.”
Some people simply aren’t able to bounce back from these situations as easily as others. Low income households are eight times more likely to live in tidal floodplains, and 61% of low-income renters do not have home contents insurance.
One of our Wild Card volunteers, Hazel, is a flood warden in her hometown in Yorkshire. She’s seen first-hand the devastating effects of flooding, and explains more here:
“‘During flooding events in our valley, it is the speed at which the water rushes off our barren hillsides that makes it so difficult to respond. Within just a few hours I have seen water levels rise by feet rather than inches. We cannot underestimate the danger this poses and how hard it makes it for people to protect their homes and possessions. In the aftermath I have seen people broken by what they have experienced – it goes beyond the financial loss – and I know that many of the people here continue to experience anxiety every time we are under flood alert.
What’s particularly frustrating is that we know that there are nature based solutions to these issues. It is through this that I became increasingly interested in rewilding as a means to helping people and the social issues surrounding the obstacle of land ownership in order to achieve the best outcomes for society.”
Luckily, nature based solutions are nothing new, and many actually go hand in hand with rewilding efforts.
Rewilding as part of the solution?
With the interconnected impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss being felt most acutely by the poorest communities, nature-based solutions should be championed as ways to benefit both nature and humans. Rewilding offers essential public goods through carbon sequestration and flood and drought prevention. Beyond that, they are often more cost-effective, whether that be for our mental health or annual pay-outs due to flood damage.
Whether we’re trying to battle flooding or wildfires, the best tool is often nature itself. Of course, it’s not a ‘one-size fits all’ job. Solutions vary depending on the area, but can include anything from restoring peatlands and soils, reforestation (the more natural the better!), restoring floodplains or creating ponds and lakes, rewiggling rivers or reintroducing keystone species (like beavers!). If farmers were paid to rewild, we could see a transformation of the countryside. Research done by Rewilding Britain found that rewilding marginal land actually boosts jobs and volunteering opportunities.
There are vast implications when people are disconnected from nature – socially, physically, psychologically, but also educationally. Fewer than half of British children can name five native trees or even identify the distinctive leaves and berries of a holly bush. It’s vital that we both restore nature, and our access to it.
The biologist and author Robert Michael Pyle reminds us of this with the oft-quoted question, ‘What is the extinction of the condor to a child who has never known a wren?’
Rewilding has the potential to reignite the stories and lore of the past, re-enchanting people with the natural environment. With 1 in 7 native UK species at risk of extinction, the more we learn about nature, and understand the importance and wonder of it, the more likely we are to want to protect it.
Rewilding is for everyone, and we need to ensure that its benefits are felt far and wide, with and for communities.