RT Journal Article
T1 Five critical questions we should ask of rewilding projects—And that social science can help us answer
A1 Cary, Emma
A1 Jones, Karen
A1 Thomas, Virginia
A1 Brieghel, Signe
A1 Payo Payo, Ana
A1 Wartmann, Flurina M.
AB Engaging conservation decision-making with critical aspects of social science can enhance the equitability of conservation practice by recentring issues of social and environmental justice.Using rewilding as a conservation case in point, we identify five foundational questions to ask of rewilding projects to help align rewilding decision-making with justice principles.We unpack these questions through five rewilding case studies: Yellowstone National Park (USA), Oostvaardersplassen (NL), Knepp Wildland (UK), Alladale Wilderness Reserve (UK) and Carpathia (RO). Applying different social science disciplines—history, anthropology, political ecology, human geography and sociology—we explore rewilding's socio-cultural and socio-economic dimensions; aspects that underpin rewilding decision-making, but that remain under-represented in the literature as well as in praxis.We show that the decisions made in these rewilding projects not only impact ecosystems but are also deeply connected to people and societies, making them inseparable from issues of social justice. In addition to the ecological goals, we highlight the social motivations driving these projects and consider what society might gain or lose—beyond increased ecological dynamism and species recovery.Bringing in different disciplinary perspectives helps us better understand the key political issues and debates raised by rewilding projects. We argue that this approach is essential for achieving both ecologically effective and socially just biodiversity governance.
PB British Ecological Society
SN 2575-8314
YR 2025
FD 2025-07-17
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/128861
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/128861
LA eng
NO Cary, E., Jones, K., Thomas, V., Brieghel, S., Payo Payo, A., & Wartmann, F. M. (2025). Five critical questions we should ask of rewilding projects—And that social science can help us answer. People and Nature, 7, 2119–2135. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.70100
NO This research was financially supported by NERC and the University of Aberdeen through the QUADRAT DTP award of Emma Cary, and the workshop was financed through the starting grant of Flurina M. Wartmann from the University of Aberdeen.
NO Natural Environment Research Council (Reino Unido)
NO University of Aberdeen
DS Docta Complutense
RD 28 may 2026