Rewilder Weekly #8
Welcome to the latest edition of the Rewilder Weekly!
Before we jump into this week's rewilding stories, allow me to highlight the upcoming 'Rewilding Hope - Land and Sea' conference - it takes place over the course of two days, 5-6 June, and it's jam-packed with amazing speakers. Check it out and don't miss it!
Oh, and one more thing: As of this edition, there's a bit of nature art for you at the end of every newsletter, thanks to a collaboration with science illustrator and painter Mauricio Alvarez. Hope you like it. 🎨 🌎 😊
Alrighty then, let's go with this week's eight selected rewilding stories.
Let's rewild!
👉 As a reminder: If you come across stories you'd like to see featured in an upcoming edition, send them to me and I'll gladly do what I can.
1) Visit the Rhodope Mountains with the latest Rewild Podcast
The 15th of James Shooter's Rewild Podcasts has dropped! This time he takes us to Bulgaria's Rhodope Mountains, one of Rewilding Europe's twelve major rewilding landscapes across Europe. These mountains bridge the continents of Europe and Asia and that makes them a region of high biodiversity - but one that has been under pressure due to poaching, habitat loss and persecution.
With his podcasts, James does a great job taking us straight into the midst of nature - and to the rewilders who are so deeply dedicated to protecting nature, restoring biodiversity and improving the circle of life overall. Take the time to listen in. I can assure you that your next 46 minutes and 28 seconds will be exceedingly well spent!
👉 Go here for the latest podcast
2) From lake to desert ... to forest!?
Mongabay published an article about the Aral Sea - one the world's 3rd largest lake. It lies between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and when the Soviet Union built dams and diverted water for irrigation purposes, the lake shrank. And no doubt climate change hasn't helped, either. The article features a series of startling NASA images that show how the lake vanished from 1977 to today.
At first glance it would seem impossible to turn that vast desert space into a forest, right? But governments and communities started taking action because the former lake's desert wasn't just growing - it was also creating health issues as sandstorms cover the whole region in dust. Over the past five years, they've successfully planted saxaul and other resistant plants across 1.7 million hectares.
👉 Go here for post and article
3) An in-depth look at human-wolf coexistence
The Financial Times takes a closer look at wolves in Spain where, because of the EU's protection status of the wolf, the species has recovered and grown to about two thousand. This is apparently one of the largest populations in any of the EU countries. (only ones with larger populations are Bulgaria, Romania and - guess what - Italy). According to the article there are around twenty thousand wolves across Europe - sounds like a lot, but most certainly is not. Check out the very low livestock kill numbers in the post.
A great deal more livestock dies annually because of illnesses and accidents. Unfortunately, the wolf has become a ideological punching bag. "The issue of human-wolf coexistence is no longer just an economic question for farmers because of livestock attacks. It’s now a conflict of urban against rural, of left against right . . . The wolf is in the middle of this fight," says wolf expert Juan Carlos Blanco.
👉 Go here for post and article
4) The importance of otters
Last week was World Otter Day, a reminder that this species is of extreme importance for a biodiversity-rich, healthy environment. They protect kelp, and thus provide a home and food for other marine species. And these wonderful creatures, by doing what they do, are climate protectors, too. Kelp forests sequester CO2 - and they can continue that good work because otters protect them from overgrazing by urchins.
Check out Rosie Howell's post and that wonderful infographic. She writes "It should come as no surprise that I'm 'otterly' unable to resist reposting my illustration-celebration of sea otters. These urchin-munching, marine mammals deserve all the appreciation they can get."
👉 Go here for post and infographic
👉 Check the #WorldOtterDay hashtag for more otter appreciation - and watch this great little clip of the smooth-coated otters in Singapore!
5) Portugal welcomes the European bison!
A herd of eight European bison have just arrived at the Herdade do Vale Feitoso Estate in Portugal. Managed in cooperation with the Rewilding Portugal team, they will enhance carbon sequestration, boost biodiversity, and support the growth of nature-based tourism.
You might be excused for thinking that the European bison must have been at home in Portugal in prehistoric times. Alas, no! As Daniel Allen reports, "While the European bison has not been recorded naturally on the Iberian Peninsula, remains of the now extinct steppe bison - from which all living bison today are descended - have been recorded in the region. From an ecological perspective, the European bison will perform a similar function as the steppe bison once did."
👉 Go here for Daniel's post, article and excellent pictures
6) The evidence between two Scottish Highlands roads
I found the article in The Herald Scotland interesting, shared a post about it, and it led to an engaged and fruitful exchange. Do read the many comments! There's a special focus on the growth of trees in between two highway roads. Apparently called the 'A9 Paradox', it highlights what can and will happen for Scotland's biodiversity to make a comeback, and for Scotland to become a rewilding nation, a proud and flourishing beacon for others to emulate.
Alastair Seaman of the The Woodland Trust says that the A9 example, “illustrates the potential ready to be unleashed across the landscape when the burning and overgrazing stops.” Maybe there are also other factors at work, but in any case, it presents an exceedingly hopeful prospect.
👉 Go here for post and article
7) Rewilding America Now partners with tribal nations
For me, right after the bliss of watching a herd of bison, comes the thrill of watching a herd of wild horses. Our friends at the Global Rewilding Alliance shared a video clip (wild horses AND bison - double happiness!) from their new alliance partner Rewilding America Now, highlighting their engagement with tribal nations and the merger of traditional knowledge and science-backed research.
People usually think that there were no horses in North America before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores - and that they are thus not native. As always with us humans, it depends very much on the timeframe we choose. Turns out that horses very much were part of the North American landscape until about six thousand years ago. Watch the video, it's hopeful, joyous - may there be more and more of these types of engagements and solutions.
👉 Go here for post and video clip
8) How do you feel about de-extincting the mammoth?
The woolly mammoth was an amazing keystone species. It was a glorious mega herbivore that trampled and pooped and seeded better and more than most of them. By now there's growing consensus that it wasn't climate, but the human species, that caused the mammoth to vanish into history. What if de-extinction were possible, what if we could bring it back? If they were here today, they could be a rewilding superpower.
And this does seem increasingly possible. A great deal of money is pumped into de-extinction science that is led, as far as I know, by Colossal Biosciences. However, considering our species and our species' track record, I cannot help but feel that this is something we shouldn't mess with, and that the efforts of those many scientists and all of those funds should be focused on the living world instead. Check out my article on the subject - and let me know your thoughts on this. I'd love to hear arguments making the case for either side!
Finally, here's the mentioned new addition to the Rewilder Weekly: Every week's edition will feature one image by Chilean science illustrator and painter Mauricio Alvarez. You can find out more about him via LinkedIn, or discover more of his work on Instagram where he pops up as mauricia_alvarez_art. Today's artwork features the Buff-necked Ibis (Theristicus caudatus), at home in South America, where it is called Bandurria.
And that's it for this edition! For more rewilding insights and stories from around the globe, use the #rewilding hashtag and follow people, organizations and groups that are as passionate about rewilding as you are.
Have a good week!
Cheers,
D