Rewilding & Climate Change

When we think of natural climate solutions, it is usually trees that come to mind. We think of carbon being locked into big tree trunks, as it’s the most visible store of carbon. However, in nature, everything is made up of carbon. Every microorganism, insect, bird mammal and plant are part of the carbon cycle.

Rewilding, beyond locking in carbon and reversing the impacts of global warming, creates ecosystems that are resilient to them. The more diverse an ecosystem is, the more interactions there are, and therefore the more robust it is to changes in climate.

We are facing a nature and climate emergency, and the solution to both is the same one. The large-scale restoration of ecosystems will lock in the carbon required to reverse the impacts of climate change, and restore biodiversity and bio abundance to full health. It is important not to focus our efforts exclusively on climate – this would result in Wales being covered in a dark, monoculture of non-native conifers, which would devastate what is left of nature, and make its recovery even more difficult.

Reports

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• ‘Rewilding and Climate Breakdown – How Restoring Nature Can Help Decarbonise the UK’ (Rewilding Britain)

• ‘Carbon and Ecosystems: Restoration and Creation to Capture Carbon’ (Penny Anderson)

• ‘Carbon Storage and Sequestration by Habitat 2021’ (Natural England)

• ‘Nature-Based Solutions for Climate Change in the UK’ (British Ecological Society)

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Links

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• Rewilding Britain – Rewilding vs Climate Breakdown

https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/support-rewilding/our-campaigns-and-issues/rewilding-vs-climate-breakdown

• Knepp Wildlands – Carbon Sequestration

https://knepp.co.uk/carbon-sequestration

• The Guardian - Rewild to Mitigate The Climate Crisis Urge Leading Scientists

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/14/re-wild-to-mitigate-the-climate-crisis-urge-leading-scientists

• Rewilding Europe - Climate Heroes: Wildlife's Game-changing Role

​​https://rewildingeurope.com/blog/climate-heroes-wildlifes-game-changing-role/