##  [Ecological Restoration and Rewilding: Considerations on the Approaches and Their Relation Based on a Literature Review and Case Studies](/resource/ecological-restoration-and-rewilding-considerations-approaches-and-their-relation-based) 

organisation

[University of Copenhagen](/organization/university-copenhagen)

 

 

Resource Type

[Thesis](/taxonomy/term/1407)

 

 

Author(s)

Amanda Fronzi

 

 

Auteurs

Amanda Fronzi

 

 

Resource Date:

2021

 

Page Length

79

 

 

Ecological restoration is a well-known and structured method for addressing degraded areas  
and supporting their recovery towards the development of healthy ecosystem. Recently  
however, rewilding is emerging as alternative approach to ecosystem restoration. For this,  
many have questioned the nature of their relation. Hence, in here, a literature review was  
conducted in order to gather opinions and theories, first over the features and nature of both  
ecological restoration and rewilding and, after, about of their relationship. In addition,  
similarities and differences were closely analyzed.  
Major differences were found in the social and psychological aspects that the rewilding  
movement brings with it. Particularly, the movement was found to be associated to a desired  
paradigm-shift in the human-nature relation, in a way that aims to transform our society  
towards a new idea of co-existence with our environment. This does not belong to ecological  
restoration, which was found to indulge more on human needs.  
From an on-field perspective instead, rewilding resulted to be a form of ecological restoration,  
both aiming to intervening for ecologically ameliorating a damaged ecosystem. Still, the two  
approaches have developed particular features and modus operandi that allow to consider them  
as separate, but to collocate them within the same continuum of ecological restoration’s allied  
activities. The two are here understood as representing either two subsequential steps towards  
the achievement of the development of a resilient ecosystem, or as alternatives, when in  
presence of such an initial level of degradation that the reference ecosystem cannot be  
recreated.  
Furthermore, in order to help classifying interventions as pertaining to the ecological  
restoration or rewilding area, a framework was developed. This was actively tested against two  
reference cases representing an ecological restoration project and a rewilding one. Throughout  
interviews to their relative project managers, it was assessed its validity. Results showed that  
the framework can represent a useful tool for practitioners and decision makers. Still, the  
number of cases included was not adequate to assess a final evaluation over it.