Rewilding. That's like, something to do with planting trees, right?
The Green Fix explaining for the 43587th time that it is in fact possible to not destroy the planet.
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Next person to say ‘I’m not really that into climate stuff - I mean we’re all doomed anyway so what’s the point?’ can show themselves out.
I’m tired, over-caffeinated and clearly due for a holiday. Try me.
I get it. Things are bad for the climate.
Apathetic nihilism is not the answer. Deciding it’s too hard to fix things is a short-term relief. Sometimes I fantasise about how much easier it would be to not care, to settle into a comfort zone of pessimism and loftily opt out of worrying as I drift away on the rising tides.
Yeah, no. My experience is that those of us that have opted for this strange brand of cheerful apocalypticism are those that will be least-affected by the impact of the climate crisis.
Let’s say to the people whose villages are already being submerged that we chose not to act because it stressed us out. Let’s say to the skyrocketing number of climate refugees that we didn’t really see the point in trying.
Climate action doesn’t mean you have to exhaust yourself trying to fix everything. At the heart of action is solidarity, empathy and a desire for justice.
When we’re tired, we must channel those values - and let it spur us into action. The world is waiting.
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What’s Going On?
Senior lobbyist at oil company Exxon admits that they are actively working to undermine climate policies.
Useful: Support the Fossil Free Politics campaign to tackle oil & gas lobbying.Top court orders French government to take action on climate in the next nine months.
Related: How many countries are being taken to court for the climate?Climate change-driven heatwaves in America lead to rapid rise in deaths.
Related: Mapping the hottest places around the world.Not to alarm anyone, but the ocean is on fire.
Useful: What are the environmental impacts of oil spills?New study finds that planting trees can boost rainfall across Europe.
Useful: Why is this a significant study?Iceland pilots successful four-day work week trial.
Related: How can a four-day work week help the planet?
Focus On… Rewilding
Two experts in nature conservation in Argentina and the UK explain why and how they’re bringing nature back.
Rewilding. As far as I know, rewilding is what happens when someone forgets to mow their lawn and the garden becomes a wilderness - right?
Luckily, it’s not my job to answer. Instead, I asked experts from two rewilding organisations in different parts of the world: Talía Zamboni, a biologist and project coordinator at the foundation Rewilding Argentina, and Simon Roper, cofounder of Ambios Ltd, a non-profit organisation offering nature conservation training in South Devon.
So what actually is rewilding?
“Rewilding has a few different definitions,” says Talía. “In our foundation, we see it as a strategy to restore ecosystems so they’re complete and working as they should. By a ‘complete ecosystem’ we meant that all the species that are part of this ecosystem are present.”
“Rewilding is a form of land management that encourages natural processes to shape and restore landscapes,” says Simon. “It follows the principle that nature should be given the opportunity to express itself without human intervention, reclaiming environments that have been ecologically degraded.”
And why is rewilding so important?
“We are living in a period of mass extinction and global climate change,” says Simon. “Something needs to change in order for human existence to continue on this planet. Rewilding is an essential part of the solution to reverse the already significant losses our natural world has experienced.”
Talía says: “A complete ecosystem is a more resilient and healthier ecosystem. A degraded ecosystem is more susceptible to any climate or health-related threat.
Rewilding also helps the climate. Restoring species that help spread seeds help restore forests, which in turn helps capture more carbon.”
OK, I’m convinced. The survival of living things sounds pretty neat. How do you actually… do it?
“When we’re rewilding we always focus efforts on certain key species,” says Talía. “These are species that play a very strong role within an ecosystem and whose absence creates the biggest imbalance. This includes predators that sit at the top of the food chain, and other key species such as those that disperse seeds.
“In Argentina there is a very high level of biodiversity including species that are not considered endangered on a global scale but are endangered within Argentina. It’s important not just to conserve but to bring back species that can’t come back on their own.”
Ambios Ltd recently took on a 50 acre plot of land for a rewilding project. Simon explains how it works: “In our case, the 50 acres had been intensively grazed with a milking herd of cows and their slurry had been sprayed across many of the fields. While this produced good grass for grazing, it was species poor.
We ended all grazing to let vegetation flower, removed internal fences, introduced pigs to break up the soil and release seeds trapped in the soil. We also worked with our trainees to undertake wildlife surveys of the biodiversity in the site and started planting some trees.”
So how popular is rewilding right now?
There haven’t been many rewilding initiatives in Argentina or Latin America as a whole,” says Talía. “The most significant rewilding project is the one taking place in Iberá because it covers many species and the reintroduction of many animals that are an integral part of biodiversity in this region.”
She adds that the local governments in Argentina have been very supportive of the rewilding process and she believes awareness is growing.
In the UK, rewilding is more widespread. “We are one of a growing number of sites of different scales where rewilding or ecological restoration is happening across the UK,” says Simon.
“In England perhaps the best known site is the 3,500 acre Knepp Estate in Sussex. As more and more sites engage with rewilding, it could become a network across which we might be able to establish corridors of connection, making more space for nature and allowing natural processes to occur.”
But err… isn’t it too late to save nature?
“That’s a sad vision of the world,” says Talía. “If humans have the power to wreak such devastation, we also have the power to revert those impacts. Around the world there are still well-protected natural areas and other areas with the potential to be restored. Anyone can make a difference - the work of individuals all adds up.”
OK, phew. But I don’t know anything about conservation. How can I support rewilding?
Talía: We use a model in our foundation called the ‘Production of Nature’ which integrates rewilding into society. By restoring natural areas, we attract more ecotourism, which in turn boosts the economies of local communities.
This then encourages the local communities to take part in restoring and protecting these natural areas. So by visiting these areas, you can help nature and help boost local economies.
If you can’t get to a natural area, then keep yourself informed about what’s happening around the world and the impact of your everyday actions and the products you buy - where they're from, who made them, etc. - and aim to shop locally where you can.”
Simon: “Using your favourite online search engine is a great place to start exploring nature conservation. There are training programmes such as those run by Ambios and others.
One of the great things about nature conservation is that everyone, no matter your background or past experience, can help. From catering to accountancy or logistics to brick laying, it is all useful to someone, somewhere who is trying to rewild a site or undertake a nature conservation project.”
You can follow Rewilding Argentina on Facebook, Twitter @RewildingArg and Instagram @rewilding_argentina. You can follow Ambios Ltd on Facebook, Twitter @AmbiosLtd and Instagram @ambios_ltd.
So Now What Do I Do?
LEARN MORE
Intersectional Environmentalist have just launched a series of Instagram Live Lectures on environmental justice. Check out the schedule & tune in.
Join this online event on encouraging people in your local area to be more sustainable by the European Environmental Bureau. 25th August @ 2pm CEST.
Register for the free online International Conference on Sustainable Development, taking place this 20-21st September.
TRY SOMETHING NEW
Apply for Rewilding Europe’s volunteer database to be matched with a placement at a rewilding project somewhere in Europe.
Submit your climate change illustration to this call by Artists for Climate by the 1st August! 50 entries will receive $500.
The European Greens have just launched a series of free online film screenings on the themes of environmental and social justice. Book free tickets.
CHANGE THE SYSTEM
Sign the petition to get world leaders to protect the land rights of indigenous people.
Sign this petition to stop oil exploration in biodiversity-rich Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Do you work in nature conservation? You can enter the Future for Nature award, which recognises achievements in animal and nature protection, until the 1st September.
If you have a topic you want the Green Fix to cover, fill out this feedback form & tell us your idea!
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Thanks for this, as always!
The topic of optimism vs pessimism/fatalism is really fascinating, and so damn important. Not sure if you saw it previously but this is a great read:
https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/climate-change-writing-cop26-uk-cal-flyn-islands-of-abandonment-life-post-human-landscape
Fully agree with Cal that telling "it's a mess but here's why we should care about this world and do something about it" narratives are more impactful than "we're screwed because rich people/big orgs suck" stories - and actually getting people to do something is the whole battle right now. Hopelessness as a self-fulfilling prophecy, and all that. And hopelessness as a privilege, because it hasn't washed up on our (ie. "us" = as-yet-cushioned relatively well-off folk) actual doorsteps yet like it's doing elsewhere, forcing people into action...
Also, the power of pessimism without fatalism. I've learnt that pessimists are more likely to envisage things going wrong and more likely to prep to prevent them, rather than optimists like me that lean much too heavily into "oh, it'll be fine somehow" and fail to consider actual solutions, ie. skip the actual thinking and questioning. Kim Stanley Robinson's "Ministry of the Future" is one of the few works of recent fiction that actually refuses to wave its hands of the upcoming mess in the service of telling a good future-history story, and we definitely need more of that...
Anyway. Rambling now. I'll stop. Thanks again.