Rewilding Conservation: Restoring Natural Processes & Wildlife
What is Rewilding Conservation?
Definition: Rewilding is a conservation effort focused on restoring and protecting natural processes and wilderness areas. It is described as a process to restore native ecosystems after major human disturbance.
Goal: The aim is to return ecosystems to a healthy, self-sustaining state where natural processes and a complete, resilient food web can function as they have historically.
Key Aspect: Keystone Species: Rewilding often involves reintroducing or supporting keystone species—animals that have a significant and disproportionate effect on their environment, regulating every aspect of the ecosystem.
Dr. Rene Beyers: Elephanatics’ Expert in Rewilding
Elephanatics’ Director and African Elephant Specialist, Dr. Rene Beyers, is a leading voice in rewilding conservation. His expertise is applied globally through his involvement with key organizations and his publications.
IUCN CEM Task Force on Rewilding Dr. Beyers is actively involved with the IUCN CEM Task Force on Rewilding, which works to develop guiding principles for the practice and provide the IUCN with a clear understanding of the approach. The task force activities include:
- Developing Guidelines for Rewilding 2025 based on systematic literature review and practitioner surveys.
- Hosting the IUCN CEM Ecosystem Restoration Thematic Group monthly webinar series, “Ecosystem Restoration: Global Initiatives in Science and Practice,” a forum for learning about ecological restoration.
Publications by Dr. Rene Beyers Dr. Beyers has co-authored and co-edited foundational texts for conservationists:
- The Routledge Handbook of Rewilding
- Co-edited by Dr. Rene Beyers, this resource features more than 60 distinguished experts and provides a comprehensive overview of the field.
- The book covers the history, ecological theory and practice, and the ethics and philosophy of rewilding.
- Quote: “Rewilding is a fascinating and rapidly emerging field with the goal of helping degraded ecosystems recover and become healthy, resilient, persistent and self-sustaining systems with no or minimal human interference.”
- Link to purchase: The Routledge Handbook of Rewilding
- A Place Like No Other (Co-authored with Professor Anthony Sinclair)
- This book (Princeton University Press) is Professor Sinclair’s firsthand account of the biological principles that regulate life in the Serengeti, co-authored with Dr. Rene Beyers.
- A fascinating journey into the lives of the scientists who deciphered the Serengeti’s extraordinary complications.
- Keystone Effect Highlight: “Migration in the Serengeti is a dominant structuring force of ecosystems called a keystone effect. Migration results in higher populations of animals, with the Wildebeest being a keystone species regulating every aspect of the Serengeti ecosystem.”
- Conservation Context: “The speed at which species are disappearing is at least 100 times higher than the natural rate of extinction.”
- Link to purchase: “A Place Like No Other”
Rewilding as a Paradigm Shift in Conservation
The IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025 in Abu Dhabi marked the official launch of the new IUCN Guidelines for Rewilding, establishing a global framework for this growing conservation movement. The guidelines emphasize a progressive, science-based approach that is as much about people as it is about nature.
Here are three major highlights from the newly released guidelines:
1. Rewilding as a Paradigm Shift in Conservation
The guidelines position rewilding not just as a method, but as a fundamental change in humanity’s relationship with nature.
- It moves beyond traditional, static conservation to focus on rebuilding self-regulating, resilient ecosystems that are capable of adapting to change with little or no human intervention.
- This approach is explicitly linked to major global frameworks, including the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), making rewilding a core strategy for meeting global recovery targets.
2. Mandating Participatory Rewilding and Social Inclusion
The new guidance places stakeholder engagement and social justice at the center of all rewilding efforts.
- A key part of the planning process is “Participatory Rewilding,” which requires working closely with local people and communities to co-design and implement plans.
- The guidelines introduce forward-looking concepts such as Multi-Species Justice and Rights of Nature, recognizing that successful ecological restoration must benefit local communities, enhance their livelihoods, and respect local ownership and culture.
3. Providing a Structured, Adaptive Five-Step Process
The guidelines move theory into practice by providing a clear, evidence-informed framework for implementation.
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- It outlines a clear and adaptable five-step process for planning, carrying out, and monitoring practical rewilding efforts.
- It emphasizes adaptive management and risk assessment, requiring monitoring to provide evidence on short- and medium-term results against long-term goals. This ensures projects are rigorous, measurable, and can adjust their trajectory based on ecological feedback.
Get Involved in Rewilding & Conservation
- Read More on Conservation Work: Learn more about the conservation work done by Elephanatics’ Director, African Elephant Specialist Dr. Rene Beyers by reading the books mentioned above and perusing the IUCN CEM Task Force on Rewilding.
- Education: Please review/use/share our Rewilding Lesson Plan in our Education section.
- Support Elephanatics: Purchase our Rewilding t-shirts and help save elephants:
- The Rewilding Connection: From our Backyards to the African Bush: Our lesson plan uses the principle of Rewilding to connect local biodiversity action (planting native Canadian/US species) with global conservation efforts (supporting African elephant coexistence gardens). Students will become Habitat Heroes by understanding how their small actions contribute to a larger, global ecosystem.