Representatives of ten European Rewilding Network sites came together in March to discuss how social science and raising awareness can achieve better human-wildlife coexistence and mitigate human-wildlife conflict.
Rewilding Europe was delighted to welcome the ERN’s 50th member in January. The Carnivores.cz initiative is a conservation programme of Friends of the Earth Czech Republic, supporting the natural recovery of wolves, lynx and bears in the Western Carpathians.
Effective communication with local stakeholders is a crucial part of any rewilding project. In December 2016 various members of the European Rewilding Network came together in a webinar to discuss their experiences with stakeholders and establish best practice.
This October, the 12th web-based seminar of the European Rewilding Network took place through our online platform. Members from various European countries gathered to discuss and exchange knowledge about the restoration of river systems and how to involve communities. Two successful showcases were presented (Sweden and Finland) and participants learned what it takes to bring change for nature and local wildlife, as well as for its people.
This June, the eleventh web-based seminar of the European Rewilding Network took place through our online platform. Members from various European countries gathered to discuss and exchange knowledge about the conversion of former agricultural lands into a more natural setting that allows natural processes to shape the landscape once again, and support species to live here.
This year’s first web-based seminar of the European Rewilding Network took place end of March. Members from 14 European rewilding sites joined in and discussed how to engage students in rewilding related work. The participants addressed the great potential of involving this young generation and shared experiences about how to best start internship programmes.
The ninth web-based seminar of the European Rewilding Network took place on December 14th. This time, attendants active in various rewilding sites throughout Europe shared experiences in restoring natural grazing as a key ecological process by bringing back free roaming and wild-living large herbivores. The event focused in particular on horses and bovines, including the Tauros.
This November, the eighth web-based seminar of the European Rewilding Network took place. Members of the network shared valuable experiences on how to increase the tourism value of wild nature and wildlife. The seminar addressed the benefits that can arise from nature-based tourism for nature, wildlife as well as for local communities. One of the highlights was to learn how local people benefit from wildlife photography in the Iberian Peninsula.
On September 17th, the seventh web-based seminar of the European Rewilding Network took place and this time members from several rewilding sites in Europe discussed how to restore food chains and the ways rewilding contributes to this. The webinar specifically addressed the crucial importance of dead animals in nature and consequently the chances for scavengers feeding upon them, all to restore natural food chains in our European ecosystems: the Circle of Life.
On June 5 another event was held to share experience between members of the European Rewilding Network. This time the subject was about coexistence between people and large carnivores. This sixth web-based seminar included a presentation of two best-practice examples from areas with existing conflicts between local people and wildlife in Bulgaria and Spain. Webinar discussions focused on innovative methods as to how to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts, and turn such problems into new opportunities.