Measuring rewilding progress

Abstract

Rewilding is emerging as a promising restoration strategy to enhance the conservation status of biodiversity and promote self-regulating ecosystems whilst re-engaging people with nature. Overcoming the challenges in monitoring and reporting rewilding projects would improve its practical implementation and maximise its conservation and restoration outcomes. Here, we present a novel approach for measuring and monitoring progress in rewilding that respond to a pressing need for developing monitoring guidelines informed by the best available science. We devised a bi-dimensional framework for assessing the recovery of processes and their natural dynamics through a) decreasing human forcing on ecological processes and b) increasing natural complexity of ecosystems. The framework incorporates the reduction of material inputs and outputs associated with human management, as well as the restoration of natural stochasticity and disturbance regimes, landscape connectivity and trophic complexity. Furthermore, we provide a list of potential activities for increasing ecosystem complexity after reviewing the evidence for the effectiveness of common restoration actions. For illustration purposes, we apply the framework to three flagship restoration projects in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Argentina. This approach has the potential to broaden the scope of ecological restoration, facilitate sound decision-making and connect the science and practice of rewilding.