Restoration, Reintroduction, and Rewilding in a Changing World

Area of Science:

• Ecological restoration
• Conservation biology
• Environmental science

Background:

• Marginal land abandonment offers restoration opportunities.
• Traditional restoration targets (past ecosystems) are increasingly inadequate due to rapid environmental change.
• Existing definitions of restoration, reintroduction, and rewilding require re-evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the evolving meanings of restoration, reintroduction, and rewilding in the context of global environmental change.
• To discuss the spectrum of current opinions and methodologies in ecological restoration and reintroduction.
• To examine the challenges posed by environmental change to both traditional and novel restoration approaches.

Main Methods:

• Literature review and synthesis of current scientific opinions.
• Conceptual analysis of restoration, reintroduction, and rewilding terminology.
• Discussion of various restoration strategies, including assisted migration, taxon substitution, de-extinction, and genetic modification.

Main Results:

• The concept of 'returning' to past ecosystems is becoming obsolete.
• A wide range of opinions exists, from conservative to radical, regarding restoration goals and methods.
• Novel approaches like assisted migration and genetic modification are being considered.
• Rewilding's hands-off approach is also challenged by environmental change.

Conclusions:

• Ecological restoration and rewilding require a paradigm shift towards future-oriented, adaptive strategies.
• The traditional definition of restoration based on past ecosystems is no longer sufficient.
• Embracing a broader range of interventions, including novel biotechnologies, may be necessary for effective conservation in a changing world.