Ireland has areas of land, mainly along the west coast and in the midlands, which could present “passive rewilding opportunities”, according to a new study.
The study, published this week in the scientific journal, Current Biology, found that a quarter of the European continent, or 117 million hectares, is “primed with rewilding opportunities”.
The Spanish researchers concluded that passive rewilding opportunities, focused on managing existing wilderness, are prominent in Ireland, Scandinavia, Scotland, Iberia, the Baltics and southeastern Europe.
While active rewilding, involving the reintroduction of animals like wolves, is viable in Corsica, Sardinia, southern France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.
The researchers said that these rewilding opportunities could help countries to meet targets under the European Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.
That strategy urges EU member states to extend their protected land and sea areas by 30%, while setting aside at least 10% for “strict conservation”.
The study outlines that there is a notable opportunity for “passive rewilding” on the west coast, which is seen as more cost-effective and less contentious than other types of rewilding.
However, the researchers add that this move alone will not be enough to reach Ireland’s conservation goals.
Passive rewilding
Commenting on the research, Dr. Jonny Hanson, environmental social scientist at Queen’s University Belfast, said this “comprehensive mapping study” provides “a useful high-level overview of rewilding opportunities at the continental level”.
“Whether in wilder parts of the island, especially western and upland areas, or more densely-populated and intensively-farmed regions, more comprehensive and ambitious agri-environmental schemes are needed to incentivise landowners to conserve biodiversity on their land.
“In particular, large-scale, landscape-level initiatives, such as the recently-begun ‘Landscape Recovery’ tier in England, are needed to help Ireland meet its biodiversity conservation targets,” he said.
However, Dr. Hanson noted that social context is crucial when seeking to apply these results at national or local levels.
“Amidst the social controversies – such as different visions for the future of the Irish countryside – there are also many social opportunities, including rural development possibilities in Ireland’s uplands,” he said.
Dr. Hanson said that the lack of apex predators in Ireland, along with the challenges of returning them, means that systematic yet ethical deer control is likely to be an important part of Irish rewilding.
“Incentivising the targeted culling of deer, and linking this to social benefits, such as providing free venison for food banks, school and hospitals, could be an important mechanism to create demand and support for a wider program of deer control across the island,” he said.
Land
Dr. Emma Hart, conservation ecologist, explained that the paper differentiates between active rewilding, involving the reintroduction of animals, and passive rewilding which allows for a natural return of biodiversity through local wildlife.
“The land it identifies in Ireland, largely on the west coast, has been highlighted as suitable for passive rewilding.
“This is an important differentiation and a reminder that rewilding is not synonymous with the reintroduction of wolves or other large carnivores,” she said.
Dr. Hart said that the study also outlines the differences between rewilding and land abandonment.
“Land abandonment does not offer the same benefits as rewilding. In fact, it can have devastating consequences for biodiversity, particularly where invasive species, such as Rhododendron ponticum, are allowed to proliferate.
“While a reduction in human interference over time – allowing nature to ‘take care of itself’ – is the end goal in rewilding, land under rewilding in Ireland, particularly on smaller scale projects, will require ongoing management, for example to control herbivore populations and invasive species,” she said.
Hart said that farmers and other landowners can “opt in to a variety of schemes to receive payments for implementing environmentally beneficial actions on their land”.
“In addition to helping Ireland to meet its biodiversity targets, including rewilding amongst these options in future could offer landowners an alternative management approach for less productive land and benefit wider society through the provision of a wide range of ecosystem services,” she said.