Instant Genius - Why rewilding success stories make us hopeful for the future

Episode Date: February 8, 2021

There are few places left on Earth that have been untouched by humans, and biodiversity is being lost at an unprecedented rate. Luckily, there are ambitious rewilding programmes around the world that aim to fix this by returning land to nature. In this week's episode of the Science Focus Podcast, we speak to Dr Andrea Perino, a scientist from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research and an expert on rewilding. She tells us about the benefits of rewilding, whether it's acres of forest or just a tiny patch in your back garden. Read more about rewilding Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts. Subscribe to the Science Focus Podcast on these services: Acast, iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, Overcast Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast: Mark Lynas: Could leaving nature to its own devices be the key to meeting the UK’s climate goals? Merlin Sheldrake: How have fungi shaped the world? Samantha Alger: What can we do to save the bees? Ross Barnett: Why should we be interested in prehistoric animals that aren’t dinosaurs? Sir David Attenborough: How can we save our planet? Brad Lister: Are we facing an insect apocalypse? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ambition comes in all shapes and sizes. At First Citizens Bank, we roll with your goals because we're built for what you're building. Fit for your ambition for Citizens Bank. You said this place was steps from the water. We just haven't found the steps yet. How much did we save? Enough.

Enough to get lost. Or you could book a stay with Hilton. Welcome to your ocean front room. Just steps from the water. The Hilton sale is on now. Book on Hilton.com or the Hilton app and save up to 20% to get the stay you expected. When you want savings, not surprises.

It matters where you stay. Hilton, for the stay. This summer, serve up the cookout classics, Oscar Meyer hot dogs and Heinz mustard. Grill up a dog, add classic yellow mustard, or loaded Chicago style. We all know it's not a cookout without Oscar Meyer and Heinz.

This podcast is sponsored by name, audio, and focal. Streaming has made music more accessible than ever, but true listening is about more than ease. It's about quality. British audio experts name audio, alongside French acoustic specialist focal, combine handcrafted tradition with cutting-edge innovation

and high-end materials, delivering digital precision with analogue warmth, so you can experience exceptional sound at home. Music just as the artist intended. Visit nameadio.com to learn more. You're listening to the Science Focus podcast from the BBC Science Focus magazine team, with the UK's best-selling science and technology monthly, available in print and in several digital formats throughout the world. Find out more at ScienceFocus.com or look out for us in your app store.

Hello and welcome to the Science Focus podcast. I'm Jason Goodyear, commissioning editor of BBC Science Focus magazine. In this week's episode, I'm speaking to Andrea Perino, a scientist from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research. and an expert on rewilding. Hi Andrea, thanks for taking the time to speak to me today. Hi, Jason. So this idea of rewilding is being gathering momentum over the last few years.

But for those who haven't heard the term, could you sort of briefly summarize the main idea for us, please? So the main idea is basically to restore nature to a condition where it is able to sustain itself without extensive human management. And so basically you want to go from a condition or a situation where you have to manage to something where you can decrease human management over time and ideally arrive at a situation where you don't have to manage at all. So this idea is, as I said, recently started gathering momentum,

but presumably it's something, to some extent, it's been practiced for hundreds of years. That's true. So the idea of restoration is actually quite similar from an ecological perspective. And the term rewilding has been coined about 20 years ago, I think, or 25 years ago, I think in 1995. And originally it was the idea of having,

large core protected areas, corridors between those areas, and space for large carnivores. And from that, it kind of evolved into different streams or approaches maybe that go from very passive approaches where you really try to just do as little management as possible to more extreme ones where it's more about introduction or reintroduction of species or even at the most extreme backbreeding of species that have gone extinct already. So this all somehow fits into the concept. But maybe one distinctive aspect to it is that it's explicitly also about creating benefits for people, which is not so much in the focus of traditional restoration.

So it's really also about getting. across the aesthetics, for instance, of wild nature and get people to enjoy that. So you touched on there. Rewilding covers both plants and animals. So do you take different approaches to different species or different types of rewilding? So, of course, you may need to take different approaches depending a bit on what is. is the ecosystem that you have and what is the condition that it is in. So it's of course a difference if you want to rewild an area that is already pretty intact versus one that

maybe has been used agriculturally for centuries. But I wouldn't necessarily make a distinction between, or rewilding doesn't necessarily focus on a certain species or just animals or just plants. It's more about restoring processes that work together, and this may involve both plants and animals. So for instance, if you increase connectivity between ecosystems, this of course means, okay, animals can move from one part to the other, but they may also be a vehicle for plant seeds, for instance. So even if you don't focus on the plants, you may also create a benefit for the plants and vice versa. Yeah.

Yeah. So in your sort of specific field of research, I believe you've identified three key components involved in rewilding. Could you just talk us through that, please? That's right. So that's the processes that I just mentioned. So there's, yeah, the connectivity that I just mentioned, which means individuals, plants or animals are able to move between different habitats.

and also within a certain ecosystem. Then the second one is the trophic complexity or trophic integrity. That means that you have several species on all the trophic levels. And you also have a certain degree of what we call functional redundancy. So that means that you may have several species that have different traits, but they all can fulfill a certain function, like, for instance, seed dispersal. So if you have one species that is affected by maybe a pest outbreak, you still have another species that can still fulfill this function. And the third one is natural disturbance or

stochastic disturbance as opposed to anthropogenic or human disturbance. And the natural disturbance in contrast to the human disturbance is often more random. So you can have disturbance events all over the landscape and some of them will last for a short time, some of them longer, and that can create sort of a habitat mosaic and more niches for different species. So that is the third component that we identified as being important for the resilience of an ecosystem. All of them ideally work together. So as an example, a large carnivore adds to the traffic complexity, but it can also add to the disturbance of an ecosystem because it feeds on other species.

Yeah, so as an example for the interrelatedness of these processes. So perhaps a bit too obvious a question, but what are the benefits of rewilding environments? Why should we be doing it? So first, I think we should do restoration. for a number of reasons. First, we're facing a biodiversity crisis, as everyone knows, at least since last year

when the IPBES global assessment came out. So we need to restore habitats and need to make space for species and allow them to recover. And of course, there are lots of different approaches, and I would not say that rewilding is the one and only approach, but especially in regions where you have landscape abandonment because of agricultural abandonment, for instance,

it can be a nice way to restore these areas and it can be cost-effective because you plan to reduce the human management. And also, yeah, as I said in the beginning, it really focuses also on creating benefits for people and also alternative income opportunities, for instance, via tourism or wildlife watching activities and so on. So this is something that's also part of the planning, let's say. Yeah.

Yeah, great. So do some environments respond better than others to this kind of work? That's hard to say, to be honest. I think some environments will need more or less management in the beginning, depending on how degraded they are when you start with a certain revolting management plan. So sometimes you will have to remove infrastructure that may hinder, for instance, the disturbance regime or the connectivity. And in other cases, you may need to do less.

And of course, I'm struggling a bit with the better. I think the trajectory that the ecosystem takes can be very different because of its context and its characteristics. And also, admittedly, there are not that many empirical studies that actually show what really happens. So that's something that I want to be transparent about. So a lot has been written about rewilding in the past couple of years, but it's pretty difficult to design field studies to actually look at the effect of rewilding because it's really a long-term endeavor, as you can imagine, as any ecological study or many of them.

Ideally, it happens on pretty large scales. Yeah, and ecological studies are usually really complex, so it's hard to capture all the processes and so on, So, yeah, it's still hard to project what's happening in rewilding areas on a long term. So sort of following on from that, are there any case studies, success stories, like gold standard rewilding projects that you always refer to? There are several very different ones, and not all of them would call themselves rewilding. One that's really, I think, kind of a flagship project,

even though they don't call it revolting, but it follows the principles, is the case of the Swiss National Park that has become a protected area more than 100 years ago, I think, in 1914. And they really, they were like conservation pioneers, and they saw what agriculture does to this alpine environment. So they really decided to take this core area and put it onto complete protection.

And at the same time, they started ecological monitoring on several plots. So they monitored the number and the composition of plant species in the region. They monitored the comeback of different angular species and so on. So this is really a nice project where you can nicely see how it's, developed so they could find an increase in the number of grassland species. Also now there are predators coming back only recently, Wolf and Bear. And they also do socioeconomic monitoring. So they ask the tourists that come there about their willingness to pay and their motivation

to come there and so on. And they could also show that the revenue from these tourists has increased quite significant. through this park. So that's, I think, one of the nicest examples where there's actual management. Then there's also, of course, the example of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, although this, I mean,

that's also an example of how an ecosystem can recover, but it hasn't, of course, been planned as a conservation project and not to imply that that is the way to go, of course. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, talking about other types of conservation efforts. So how does rewilden compare to something like straightforward replanting or reforestation?

I really think it's the scope and, well, what you want to, achieve with it. So with replanting of trees, for instance, you focus on this one aspect of an ecosystem. You want to increase the number of trees. Whereas in rewilding, you really want to improve the functionality and the interaction of all the processes. So it's maybe a more comprehensive view on the entire ecosystem. And in some cases, maybe this may involve replanting trees or reintroducing plant species that have been lost to the area, but only if it serves the purpose of increasing a certain process or several processes. So, yeah, that's, I think, the main difference.

Do you ever get an environment that has sustained so much damage that you can no longer be rewilded whatsoever? I don't know. but again with regard to looking at the Chernobyl exclusion zone I think that

I mean there's hardly any bigger impact I suppose I cannot imagine a much bigger impact than the nuclear meltdown and still after a couple of years the environment started to recover and now they have

basically yeah complete traffic integrity and and I think an ecosystem that's pretty well in equilibrium or in this dynamic balance that you want to achieve. So I don't think there's, maybe if you have like, I don't know, a backyard that's only concrete, it's going to take quite long until it starts to recover.

But in general, I wouldn't say that it's, that there's a hopeless, hopeless case. So what are some of the main difficulties faced by rewilding projects? I think a major difficulty is still the acceptance of the local people that are directly affected by the by a rewilding project. So we see this here in Germany, with the comeback of the wolves that has started 30 years ago, that there's a lot of resistance against these large carnivores

coming back into our landscapes. And I think that is really often an issue that needs to be addressed. So that's also why it's really important in my point of view to plan these projects in a very participatory. way and really from the beginning involve the people that have to live with it because I don't think that it can be successful if you don't get those people

on board with your project and you really figure out, okay, what is an acceptable level of I don't know, autonomous nature or wildness, if you will. What can we deal with? What is actually beneficial? What would we like to have and what is not okay. So I think this is really the communication to the people,

I think is key and is often the biggest issue. Yeah. So that comes on to something else I was going to ask. So quite often with things like this, you mentioned the predatory species. And a lot of people get kind of nervous about, oh, you know, I don't want wolves walking around. and you know, it's dangerous or something.

So why do we need the predatory species in these ecosystems? So, well, first I think there's an intrinsic value to any species and also, of course, to the predatory and the predatory species are the large carnivores. So we don't want to lose them in general. But also, of course, they have important functions, as I mentioned before. So for instance, they're important. to keep angular species at check.

They can fulfill certain sanitary functions if they feed on carrion. They can contribute to the sea dispersal because they usually travel over large distances. So they have quite like a number of different functions that they can fulfill in an ecosystem. And of course, these can be to some extent be replaced maybe by human management.

So of course, you can hunt instead of having wolves controlling herbivore populations. But, yeah, as I said, I mean, we also, we don't want to lose these species for their intrinsic values. So, yeah, well, I personally prefer to have them in the landscape, even if they cannot fulfill the functions completely, because, of course, there's always this, this, um, trade of, let's say, with the human use of the landscape, which is, of course, also totally fine and necessary. So it's also not, it's not about pushing out people so you can have the wolf there.

It's more about trying to reach coexistence. And maybe as another argument, there is a lot of focus on large mammals in rewilding, and it's also because due to their large body size and large, or their habitat requirements. They are also the most vulnerable to habitat loss. So you'll lose the large species first if you lose habitat, which is also why a lot of restoration and especially rewilding focuses on them a lot.

Yeah, so you mentioned human management there. So what part does human management play in rewilding? So say once we've successfully, let's say, rewilded a certain environment or area. What do we do afterwards? Do we just let nature take its course, or do we have to manage it and keep an eye on it? Well, that, again, depends a bit on the area,

maybe also on the size and the location of the area. If it's really remote, you'll probably be able to reach a state where you don't need any human management at all. But in other cases, I think you will, in many cases, I think you will need a certain low level of human management. So maybe to use the Swiss National Park example, again, they basically put a hunting ban on the entire area already in the early 20th century.

But then sometime in the 60s, they had so much red deer that, and the red deer was also leaving the park and going into the agricultural fields around and so on. So they did like a hunting event only once or twice, I think, to reduce the numbers and to also push them back into the national park. And this really helped to increase the acceptance of the farmers that were living around the park and we're trying to make a living. So like these kinds of management actions, I think, will often be needed. Yeah. Yeah, so one of the big sort of stories in science at the moment is rising global temperatures due to climate change. So what sort of role can these rewilding projects have in helping this cause?

Yeah, so in some rewolding projects, you may have, for instance, reforestation because you don't manage the forest anymore. you may have first succession and then reforestation. So that may increase the carbon storage potential. And the same with restoring or protecting, for instance, peat box, which are really important carbon sink. And this can, of course, also be part of revolting projects or rewarding plans. Yeah, so just on kind of a smaller scale,

I'll say I've got my own backyard, you know, it's a fairly good, decent size. I mean, is there any benefit to me sort of doing my own mini rewilding project at my backyard and saying, I'll have that, I'll just let that area stay, you know, go the way that nature takes it? I think so, yes, because, I mean, you will of course not reach a very high level of wild. let's say, because you will not be able to introduce carnivores or have wild streams in your backyard unless you have a really great backyard. But you can also increase the number of plant species that you have. Or you can have plant species that are feeding, that insects can feed on, and these can increase the insect diversity in your city also because it,

like these little islands, let's say, can act as stepping stones for the insect. So they can actually use larger areas of the city. So you would contribute to the species diversity, but also to the connectivity within your city if you had like a little bee meadow in your garden. So yeah, I think the principle of rewilding can be applied on basically any scale. scale. So this idea of allowing more disturbance, allowing more species and increasing the connectivity, I think that can be improved with very little measures to a certain extent. Yeah. That was Dr. Andrea Perino talking about rewilding. For more of the latest going on in the

science world, pick up a copy of BBC Science Focus magazine or head to sciencefocus.com. If you've enjoyed this episode of the Science Focus podcast, then please do leave us a review wherever you listen. Thank you for listening to the Science Focus podcast from the BBC Science Focus magazine team. With the UK's best-selling science and technology monthly, available in print and in several digital formats throughout the world. Find out more at sciencefocus.com or look out for us in your app store.

This podcast is sponsored by Name, Audio and Focal. The texture and emotional depth of music can be lost through digital sources or poor signal. Name, audio, believe, you can have digital precision with analog warmth. Alongside French acoustic specialist vocal, Name creates high-end audio systems, combining innovation with craftsmanship,

so you can listen to music, just as the artist intended. Discover more at name audio.com. Hey, honey, it's Mom. Did you know if we switch to Verizon we can get four phones for $0,000 plus four lines for $25 a line? Call me back. Me again.

That's just $100 a month for four lines on Unlimited Well, Plus four phones, no trade-in needed. Call me. It's mom. America's Best Network, Verizon. That's the one we're talking about. I'll send you text. America's Best Network based on Root Metrics,

best overall mobile network performance, U.S. 2nd 1⁄2 lines and a limit and welcome and auto pay. See Verizon.com for details. Did you know if your windows are bare, indoor temperatures can go up 20 degrees? Get ahead of summer with custom window treatments like solar roller shades from Blinds.com and save up to 45% during the Memorial Day Early Access sales.

Whether you want to DIY it or have a pro handle everything, we've got you. Free samples, real design experts, and zero pressure. Just help when you need it. Shop up to 45% off site wide right now during the early access Memorial Day sale at blinds.com. Rules and restrictions apply.