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Rewilding Europe
Making Europe a Wilder Place
Insel Vilm, 20 November 2012 Wouter Helmer
All images in this presentation © 2012 Wild Wonders of Europe and Rewilding Europe
My presentation
Historic opportunity Vision and approach Three corner stones Rewilding projects The business case Key conclusions
Urbanisation: in 2030, 4 out of 5 Europeans living in urban areas
IEEP (2010): until 2030, an additional 12-18 million hectares in EU countries will be abandoned
> 50% of European flora and fauna
Natura 2000
IEEP (2011): -Only 9-19 % of the estimated financing needs of 5.8 billion Euro/year is covered - ‘Business as usual approach puts the network at risk’
Are there other ways to finance nature or lowering the costs? (and even improve the quality of nature?) 18%
Turning problems into opportunities: Making Europe a Wilder Place
• With much more space for wildlife, wilderness and natural processes.
• Bringing back the variety of life for us all to enjoy.
• Exploring new ways for people to earn a fair living from the wild.
Three key components Conservation – Communication - Business
Overall objective: Rewilding of at least 1 million ha of land by 2020
• Started in 10 areas by 2o13, where natural processes and wild nature shape the landscape.
• Natural fires, bark beetles, flooding, ice, storms, erosion, sedimentation, salt intrusion, natural grazing, carnivory, scavenging, ...
• Rewilding can be applied to all landscapes and all levels of protection.
Not only in remote areas…
Wildlife comeback in Europe!
1960 1,000 2009 19,800
1970 10,000 2008 25,000
1970 14,000 2008 17,000
1970 3,000 2008 9,800
1900 700 2003 680,000
1970 205,000 2005 2,450,000
1927 13 2010 2,750
1920 200,000 2005 720,000
Wildlife numbers in Europe are depressingly low •Normal, natural numbers would be between 5 and >150 times higher than today • Not even one large area in Europe with natural wildlife numbers.
• Breeding and reintroduction of keystone species
• Natural grazing by native wild herbivores as a key factor to keep landscapes open.
Where? The first 5 rewilding areas
Western Iberia: ‘Ancient Dehesa, Sierra and Montado landscapes’
Danube Delta: ‘Europe’s unrivalled wetland’
Eastern Carpathians: ‘One of Europe’s best wilderness areas’
Southern Carpathians: ‘Wilderness Arc in the heart of Europe’
Velebit: ‘The Wild West of the Adriatic Coast’
And we are exploring 5 additional ones
Stettiner Haff/Odra Delta: Wetlands around the ‘Horn of Plenty’
Rewilding is happening in many places in Europe already
Bornholm,DK
Oostvaardersplassen, NL
Kempen-Broek, BE/NL Border Meuse,BE/NL Ticha Valley,SK
Gelderse Poort,NL
San Cebrian,E
Alladale,UK Stettiner Haff,DE/PL
Former military areas, DE
Danube,RO/BG/AT/UA,.. Bavarian Forest,DE
Danube Delta,RO
Central Appenines,IT
Eastern Rodopes,BG Cevennes,FR
Western Iberia,PT/E
Velebit,CR
Eastern Carpathians,PL/SK
Southern Carpathians,RO
Lake Pape,LV Dviete Valley,LV
Sumava/Boletice,CZ
Catalunya,E
Haute Thorenc,FR
Askaniya-Nova,UA
Greater Lapponia S/N
Soomaa NP, Es
Communication Wild Wonders of Europe
Large outdoor exhibitions 500.000 - 2 million visitors, each
Media Coverage
Promoting ‘rewilding enterprises’ • How can rewilding generate income, and how can investments promote rewilding?
• A wildlife lodge, wildlife breeding centre, wildlife watching businesses, ...
So far, we have identified 26 local businesses (in 3 rewilding areas), and 10 new Rewilding Europe driven enterprises
Wildlife watching tourism is a high priority • It makes outstanding wildlife experiences accessible to many • It makes wildlife more valuable alive.
• In many countries wildlife is the main tourism attraction. • Large carnivores have highest value, multi-million/billion values.
So, we need to increase wildlife variety and numbers • In Africa, many landowners turn into wildlife paradises • In Europe, we feel we need years of “feasibility studies” • Here, Europe can learn a lot from Africa
Innovative business mechanisms • European Wildlife Bank
Cooperation with hunters and foresters is essential Hunting free zones, where numbers can grow, core areas for wildlife watching, spill over to sustainable hunting zones
Some key conclusions
Continued, massive land abandonment
Wildlife comeback, but general biodiversity loss
Severe socio-economic impacts in our rural areas
Heavy dependence on subsidies in a financial crisis..
Financial challenges Natura 2000
Turning back former cultivated land into new wild areas connected with
protected areas of all kinds
Reintroducing natural processes, completing and boosting wildlife
Wild lands, wildlife & wilderness thus become a competative form of land use
Wild areas with rich wildlife start generating their own income, and
create new rural economies
Reaching out to large audiences in urbanised Europe in support of
rewilding
Turning problems into opportunities
Too few wildlife to become economic factor
‘Twining’ ecology and economy
The Rewilding Europe Team Portugal – Spain – Slovakia – Poland – Romania – Croatia –
Netherlands – Belgium - Estonia - Sweden - Switzerland – UK
Making Europe a Wilder Place www.rewildingeurope.com