A new study published in the peer reviewed Current Biology journal claims that lands along the west coast and midlands present opportunities for rewilding without the need for introducing predators.
Its authors maintain that passive rewilding could be rolled out in these parts of the country to help the State meet its biodiversity commitments.
The paper identified approximately 117m hectares of lands across Europe as potentially suitable for rewilding efforts.
The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 aims for 10% of member states’ land and sea areas to be strictly protected and for a 30% expansion of protected areas.
Commenting on the findings, rewilding consultant Dr Emma Hart stated that rewilding should not be equated with land abandonment, as rewilded lands may need management to continue once the rewilding process has started, such as rhododendron control.
Natural return
“This paper differentiates between active rewilding, which involves the reintroduction of animals, and passive rewilding, which does not involve reintroductions, instead allowing for a natural return of biodiversity to the land through dispersal of wildlife from surrounding areas,” said Hart.
“The land it identifies in Ireland, largely on the west coast, has been highlighted as suitable for passive rewilding.
“This is an important differentiation and a reminder that rewilding is not synonymous with the reintroduction of wolves or other large carnivores.”
Hart stated that while some land will require ongoing management to control herbivores and invasive species, the end goal of rewilding is to leave nature to “take care of itself”.
Rewilding options in future agri-environmental schemes could pose opportunities for more marginal parcels of land, the ecologist claimed.
“In addition to helping Ireland to meet its biodiversity targets, including rewilding amongst these options in future could offer landowners an alternative management approach for less productive land and benefit wider society through the provision of a wide range of ecosystem services.”
Context needed
Environmental social scientist at Queen’s University Belfast Dr Jonny Hanson stated that the study provided a useful tool for assessing “rewilding opportunities” at European level, but that context is needed for applying the approach at a national or local level.
Hanson commented that large-scale and landscape level projects are needed for Ireland to meet its biodiversity targets,
"Whether in wilder parts of the island, especially western and upland areas, or more densely-populated and intensively-farmed regions, more comprehensive and ambitious agri-environmental schemes are needed to incentivise landowners to conserve biodiversity on their land,” he said.
“Because much of Ireland has been dramatically changed since prehistoric times, through a wide range of human activities, including the introduction of invasive species like Sika deer, it is important that we take this into account when working towards a future vision for a diverse and flourishing island, rather than trying to recreate the past per se.”
A lack of apex predators and the challenges linked to reintroducing them mean that deer control, including targeted culls, is likely to an important aspect to rewilding efforts in Ireland, according to Hanson.
The researcher recognised that any social rewilding needed "to bring rural communities along with it”.
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