In September, the Rewilding Sweden team organised a helicopter drop of 150 tonnes of sand and gravel into the Abramsån River. We caught up with a Norwegian PhD student involved with monitoring the impact of this pioneering intervention to find out why.
A grant from the Open Rivers Programme has enabled the removal of a number of small dams in the catchment of the Vindel River, in the Swedish Lapland rewilding landscape. By enabling the free flow of water, this will help to revitalise waterscapes and the wildlife populations they support.
Many rivers in Swedish Lapland were extensively reshaped by historical logging activities, negatively impacting the environment on a massive scale. The Rewilding Sweden team are now rewilding a stretch of the Abramsån River, with benefits for biodiversity and local communities.
Rivers are the lifeblood of Swedish Lapland. We caught up with Henrik Persson, Rewilding Sweden team leader, to discuss how rewilding is restoring these vital waterways – and their catchments – to health.
Natural forests are good for climate, nature and people. Funded by a grant from the country’s Postcode Foundation, a new initiative is working to scale up forest rewilding in Sweden.
Removing dams is the most efficient way to restore rivers. A memorandum of understanding between Rewilding Europe and NGO Älvräddarna will see both partners collaborate to take dam removal forwards in Sweden.
Rewilding means more than recovering wildlife populations and restoring landscapes. People are an equally important and integral component of the rewilding dynamic too. From bison rangers in the Southern Carpathians and nature guides in the Oder Delta to volunteers in the Central Apennines and entrepreneurs in the Velebit Mountains, Rewilding Europe’s work continues to touch and transform people’s lives across the continent. Four interviews showcase the diversity of this impact.
Films that feature wildlife and wild nature can be incredibly powerful. A trio of captivating media productions is helping Rewilding Europe boost the global outreach of rewilding.
Thousands of dams and other man-made obstacles fragment the world’s waterways. Their removal, which is now happening at an increasing rate in many European countries, is the best way to breathe new life into rivers and local economies.
Before they suffered at the hands of man, the European bison, wild forest reindeer and musk ox once roamed widely across large parts of Sweden. Reintroducing and enhancing populations of these large native herbivores can benefit both wild nature and the people of Sweden.