Rewilding Europe: Wildlife comeback

Europe is changing

Nature in Europe is in a state of dramatic change. On the one hand, biodiversity is still declining, but on the other hand there is an impressive wildlife comeback going on. Because of huge socio-economic and lifestyle changes there is a wide and increasing land abandonment. At the same time there is a strong growth within nature-based tourism. On top of that, European policy is shifting towards a more positive attitude to wilderness, wildlife and rewilding. We believe these facts offer opportunities for wild nature in Europe that are bigger than for centuries.

Every period in time brings with it opportunities and challenges. The 21^st century Europe is no different. We are exposed to economic downturn, social conflict, a continued loss of biodiversity and natural disasters increasingly associated with climate change.

A few trends are particularly relevant for nature and these were the main reasons for starting Rewilding Europe as a new initiative:

• Urbanisation and land abandonment leading to depopulation of rural areas in Europe. Something that is taking place both in agricultural and in forested areas. These sociocultural and economic problems could be turned into new opportunities.

• A substantial comeback of a number of iconic and keystone wildlife species. This offers great opportunities for Europeans to enjoy and benefit from this wildlife comeback.

• An increasing demand for experiencing all kinds of wild nature and seeing its wildlife. Connected to an increasing tolerance from people towards wild beings. This is one of the main reasons for the wildlife comeback, which in its turn also provides the possible base for a number of wildlife-related tourism products. 
  

• An increasingly favorable European policy towards wildlife, wilderness and rewilding. Especially related to the recently approved wilderness resolution by the European Parliament, the EU Commission’s new biodiversity strategy for Europe and the Natura 2000 Network. 

Can we bring the biodiversity decline in Europe to a halt, produce an additional kind of nature conservation that costs less and delivers more new economic value, lets wild species and habitats come back, and better safeguards our shared natural heritage for the future?

We believe there is a way, and we intend to explore and find that way, together with as many like-minded partners as possible. If there is a will, there is a way to reconnect people with nature, and a way to combine that with economic development in countryside Europe.

We call this way rewilding. Rewilding of areas, habitats, species and minds.

Making Europe a Wilder Place

Urbanisation and land abandonment

In Europe, urbanisation and land abandonment is particularly prominent compared to many other parts of the world. By 2020, it is estimated that four out of five European citizens will
be living in urban areas. With the depopulation of the countryside, an aging rural society and increased competition through the globalisation, more and more low-productive farmland is taken out of production.
Urbanisation and land abandonment is leading to depopulation of rural areas in Europe.

A dramatic change
Between 1960 and 2000, the European countryside experienced a dramatic change in land use. Marginal areas of less importance for agricultural production have been particularly affected by this land abandonment: areas with high land abandonment levels are found in the Alps, Pyrenees, Portugal, central Spain, Sardinia, former East Germany, the Baltic States, the Carpathians, Poland, north Sweden, north Finland and the Balkans.

30 million hectares abandoned farmland by 2030
Further land abandonment is forecast to continue until 2030, according to the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), particularly in Spain, Portugal, parts of Finland, Sweden and Greece, highland areas of France, Italy, central Europe, Romania, Bulgaria and the UK. Estimates indicate a total decline of agriculture, grasslands and semi-natural habitats of more than 30 million hectares and a subsequent increase of forest or bush areas across the EU.

A tremendous challenge
Since 1958 the EU Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) has played an important role in shaping the agricultural landscape in Europe. The winners have been farmers on the most fertile soils – but not their colleagues trying to survive in the more marginal areas. The recent reform of CAP in 2013 continues the current trend of shifting production away from the less productive areas to the more fertile. Many of these marginal farmlands have served as strongholds for the large part of Europe’s biological wealth that have often been associated with the traditionally farmed landscapes. However, with the custodians of some of these treasures – the small-scale, traditional farmers and herdsmen – now leaving, Europe’s natural heritage is facing a tremendous challenge.

An ecologically poor, digital landscape?
Once abandoned, the semi-open landscape quickly changes, with shrubs and young trees invading the open patches, while the multitude of species that were adapted specifically to the open landscapes become isolated and trapped. If nothing is done, we risk getting a “digital” Europe – with intensive farming on the fertile soils and industrial forest plantations and bush dominating the less productive regions. The result will be an almost irreversible decline of a significant number of our plants and animals. That would lead to a new, poor and vulnerable face of Europe, never experienced before in human history.

Link: www.rewildingeurope.com/publications/landabandonment
(Former link http://rewildingeurope.com/news/articles/report-on-farmland-abandonment/)

Wildlife comeback

Perhaps surprisingly, the last 30-40 years has been an era of significant wildlife comeback in Europe. This comeback encompasses a long list of species, particularly among the larger and maybe more charismatic mammals and birds. A comeback that is strongly connected to nature conservation decisions taken, especially over the last 4-5 decades.

A substantial comeback of a number of iconic and keystone wildlife species

The large carnivores are also doing better.
From previous bastions in Eastern Europe in particular, wolves and brown bears are slowly re-colonising all corners of the continent: Scandinavia, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, Spain and Portugal. This success has been both natural and as a consequence of dedicated work from nature conservationists and hunters, which assisted in particular for example the Eurasian lynx, the brown bear, the Alpine ibex, the Iberian ibex and the chamois to reoccupy lost territories. Even the Iberian lynx has started to recover slowly from an all-time low just a few years ago.

The Wildlife Comeback Report
Scientists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), BirdLife International and the European Bird Census Council (EBCC) worked with experts from across Europe to gather relevant data about the distribution and abundance of selected species. The resulting report, ‘Wildlife Comeback in Europe’, describes how, why and where 37 mammal and bird species have recovered over the past 50 years, providing important lessons for the conservation of these and other species. Continued and strong legal protection, active boosting of existing wildlife populations and reintroductions to bring back lost species, combined with an increasing tolerance towards wildlife were identified as the main drivers for this wildlife comeback. The report not only shows the amazing resilience of nature, it also emphasizes the importance of EU policy: the Birds and Habitats Directives, the Natura 2000 Network and the Water Framework Directive are all explicitly credited for supporting this impressive return of wildlife. The wildlife comeback is not limited to the species presented in this study; there are many more that are showing similar patterns of recovery.

Wildlife numbers yet far too low
Despite the return of this impressive number of European birds and mammals, biodiversity is still being lost. The results of this report must be viewed in the context of large historical declines. For carnivores like the Eurasian lynx and Grey wolf, and many bird species including the Red kite, distributions and abundances had already declined dramatically from their historical levels by the mid-20^th century. Wildlife resurgence must therefore be assessed cautiously, as many species have not yet reached the level necessary to secure sustainable populations.

Link: www.rewildingeurope.com/publications/wildlife-comeback-report

A growing demand for nature experiences

Currently, the international demand is booming when it comes to all kinds of nature experiences. Nature-based tourism is on a worldwide basis becoming a very serious industry. In particular wildlife watching is growing almost exponentially and a country’s nature and wildlife is turning into a main reason for visitors to go there.
There is increasing demand for experiencing all kinds of wild nature and seeing its wildlife

Spearhead attractions
All charismatic wildlife species are potential spearhead attractions. Wildlife watching tourism makes outstanding wildlife experiences accessible to many, and makes wildlife more valuable alive than dead. Particularly it offers the public first-hand experience of engaging with nature, a good business opportunity and is one of the best ways yet to solve man and wildlife conflict.

Which are Europe’s mountain gorillas?
In Africa, a mountain gorilla-watching permit costs 450 euro per day. But which are “Europe’s mountain gorillas”? There is a large variety of species that meet the key characteristics of large animals with big teeth or big horns or antlers, hooked beaks and sharp claws that tend to have the highest value. Particularly important species for Europe are brown bear, bison, Iberian lynx, wild horse, wolf, otter, red deer, aurochs, vultures, eagles, pelicans, flamingos, storks, herons, falcons, cranes, owls, geese and even kites, badgers and martens.

A multi-billion euro industry
For example, in Finland there were approximately 17,000 bear watching guest nights during 2012, a turnover about 6 million euros in total value, including air transportation, gasoline, ferries etc. Wildlife watching in the USA, 2011 directly turned-over €43 billion, 72 million participants, and since 2006, wildlife watching is the number one “outdoor recreational activity” in the USA, involving more people than those who hunt or sports fish, even taken together. In Scotland 56% of all travel “nature oriented”, generating 2 763 jobs, €83 million in turnover in 2011.

 
Seeing wildlife up close
However, if you don’t see the wildlife the products have low value. Seeing wildlife up close – hides, guides, photography – brings much higher value. For instance the contemporary price levels per day per person to see a variety of species depends on a number of factors and ranges quite widely: bears in Alaska 200-500 euro, Polar bears Svalbard 300-700 euro, Polar bears Canada 200-700 euro, bears in Finland 120-270 euro, owls in Finland & Sweden 100-240 euro, eagles in Norway 180-350 euro, vultures in Spain 100-200 euro, wolf howling in Sweden 200 euro.




The wildlife safari dimension
Safari lodge operators are now beginning to look at Europe, not only as a market source but more and more also as a wildlife travel destination in itself. The main problem to date has just been that there has been to little wildlife to watch, or the shy behaviour of animals due to hunting pressure in most of our continent. However with the wildlife comeback happening in front of our eyes, the doors are slowly beginning to open to a whole new set of tourism products and sources of rural income.

More favourable policies towards the wild

Also at the European policy level things are moving to the better and leading to improved enabling policies for wilderness and wildlife. A real milestone was the adoption of the “European Parliament Resolution on Wilderness in Europe”, in February 2009.

An increasingly favorable European policy towards wildlife, wilderness and rewilding
“European Parliament Resolution on Wilderness in Europe”
 


In this resolution the European Parliament called on the European Commission to develop a clear definition of wilderness, to mandate the European Environment Agency to map existing wilderness areas in Europe, to undertake a study on the values and benefits of wilderness, to develop an EU wilderness strategy, to promote the development of new wilderness areas (“rewilding”), and to promote the values of wilderness together with NGOs & local communities. The European Parliament also welcomed the establishment of the Wild Europe Initiative (WEI) – a collaborative effort to promote the wilderness concept amongst several European nature conservation organizations, including PAN Parks, EUROPARC, WWF, BirdLife, IUCN, Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), and European Centre for Nature Conservation (ECNC).

The “Message from Prague”.

In May 2009, more than 230 delegates met at the Prague “Conference on Wilderness and Large Natural Habitat Areas” hosted by the Czech European Union Presidency and the European Commission. A key outcome was the development of the “Message from Prague”, which contained 24 recommendations from the participants on policy, research, awareness raising, mass communication and partnerships. The Prague conference also saw the call for nominations for suitable rewilding areas, which led to the subsequent forming of the Rewilding Europe initiative.

The “Vision for a Wilder Europe”
At the 10^th World Wilderness Congress, WILD10, in Salamanca, Spain, in October 2013, nine conservation organisations signed and published a ‘Vision for a Wilder Europe’, showing that new thinking in this field is happening also in the non-government organisations. Rewilding Europe is one of the signatory parties behind this vision, in which much of our ideas are reflected.