Ecological Restoration and Rewilding: Considerations on the Approaches and Their Relation Based on a Literature Review and Case Studies

Ecological restoration is a well-known and structured method for addressing degraded areas
and supporting their recovery towards the development of healthy ecosystem. Recently
however, rewilding is emerging as alternative approach to ecosystem restoration. For this,
many have questioned the nature of their relation. Hence, in here, a literature review was
conducted in order to gather opinions and theories, first over the features and nature of both
ecological restoration and rewilding and, after, about of their relationship. In addition,
similarities and differences were closely analyzed.
Major differences were found in the social and psychological aspects that the rewilding
movement brings with it. Particularly, the movement was found to be associated to a desired
paradigm-shift in the human-nature relation, in a way that aims to transform our society
towards a new idea of co-existence with our environment. This does not belong to ecological
restoration, which was found to indulge more on human needs.
From an on-field perspective instead, rewilding resulted to be a form of ecological restoration,
both aiming to intervening for ecologically ameliorating a damaged ecosystem. Still, the two
approaches have developed particular features and modus operandi that allow to consider them
as separate, but to collocate them within the same continuum of ecological restoration’s allied
activities. The two are here understood as representing either two subsequential steps towards
the achievement of the development of a resilient ecosystem, or as alternatives, when in
presence of such an initial level of degradation that the reference ecosystem cannot be
recreated.
Furthermore, in order to help classifying interventions as pertaining to the ecological
restoration or rewilding area, a framework was developed. This was actively tested against two
reference cases representing an ecological restoration project and a rewilding one. Throughout
interviews to their relative project managers, it was assessed its validity. Results showed that
the framework can represent a useful tool for practitioners and decision makers. Still, the
number of cases included was not adequate to assess a final evaluation over it.