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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