Rewilding offers compelling solutions to our climate and biodiversity emergencies. Today’s charter release supports growing calls to scale up rewilding now.
Critical cause
Released today, a “Global Charter for Rewilding the Earth” reinforces the message that rewilding must be prioritised as a critical solution to our current climate and biodiversity emergencies. The visionary document has already been endorsed by over 30 NGOs across the world, including Rewilding Europe, and follows the December release of the Call to Action for a Wilder Europe, which has a similar message and has now been endorsed by nearly 60 organisations.
“Across the world, there is growing recognition that the restoration of wild nature is a critical, cost-effective, immediate way of tackling climate change, reversing biodiversity decline, and providing services that we, as humans, rely on,” says Rewilding Europe Managing Director Frans Schepers. “This is an encouraging and important moment, with organisations and institutions from across the world working together to ensure large-scale nature recovery is placed high up on the global climate and biodiversity agenda.”
The Global Charter is directed towards a wide range of organisations for incorporation in their actions and policies, including major institutions such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and IUCN. It will also be submitted during the formal public comment period for the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030.
Natural solutions
Rewilding is an innovative and inspirational way of restoring wild nature. By allowing natural processes to reshape and enhance ecosystems, it can revitalise land and sea, help to alleviate some of society’s most pressing challenges and create spaces where nature and people can thrive in harmony.
Working with nature can protect us from flooding and coastal erosion, minimise wildfire risk, secure drinking water supplies, enhance human health and wellbeing, and drive economic growth. It is one of the most practical and cost-effective ways of mitigating climate change and helps to boost climate resilience. By enhancing the functionality of natural ecosystems, rewilding can also reduce the risk of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19.
A European context
The main aim of the Call to Action for a Wilder Europe, which was released by Rewilding Europe and a range of European rewilding partners in early December, is to ensure that rewilding is embedded in the European Green Deal and its subsequent EU policies – in particular the upcoming EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030.
While the European Green Deal, which was also presented in early December, proposes ambitious climate action, it should place far more emphasis on nature-based solutions and large-scale nature recovery as a way of tackling both the current climate and biodiversity emergencies.
The Call to Action for a Wilder Europe is not only directed towards politicians and policymakers. It also calls on a wide range of interest groups and sectors – including citizens, water and forest managers, investors, bankers, land managers, energy producers, tourism operators, scientists and leaders of NGOs – to apply rewilding principles in their lives and work. Rewilding Europe warmly invites all organisations, rewilding initiatives, action groups, NGOs, scientific institutions and companies to endorse and share the Call to Action.
Sign the global charter
The Global Charter for Rewilding the Earth was to be launched at the 11th World Wilderness Congress in the Indian city of Jaipur, which has now been indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to Rewilding Europe, it has already been endorsed by over 30 non-governmental and civil society partners, including Tompkins Conservation, Wilderness Foundation Global, the WILD Foundation, African Parks, Sanctuary Nature Foundation, Wildlife Conservation Trust of India, Global Wildlife Conservation, the Yawanawa Socio-cultural Association, and Nature Needs Half.
Organisations interested in adding their name to this list should send their requests – with their logo, name of CEO and best contact and email addresses, together with REWILDING in the subject line – to info@wild.org.