Research & reports

Our research demonstrated the vital role rewilding can play in enriching our habitats, reducing flooding, boosting ecosystems, supporting communities and reversing wildlife decline both on land and at sea. A well-researched evidence base is crucial to persuade governments to support and invest in rewilding as well as to inspire people to take action in support of rewilding principles.

Our research:

Britain’s climate zones are moving northwards by up to five kilometres a year due to climate heating. 

This shift — hundreds of times faster than the natural climate warming at the end of the last ice age – is set to outpace many species’ ability to adapt and adjust their ranges. For Britain’s wildlife this could be catastrophic.

Our report outlines how rewilding, by supporting the dynamic movement and re-establishment of ecological communities, can play a major role in climate adaptation. It proposes that, by restoring and connecting species-rich habitats across at least 30% of Britain’s land and sea by 2030, we can help save a fifth of species from climate-driven habitat loss, decline or extinction. By doing so we can ensure that Britain is once again teeming with wildlife.

Rewilding and climate breakdown: How restoring nature can help decarbonise the UK

Our country is rich in potentially climate-breakdown-busting habitats, including peat bogs, heathland, woodland and marine ecosystems. Our report outlines how rewilding can help remove carbon from the atmosphere and how those who manage the land can be supported to come together to deliver major carbon reductions.

How rewilding reduces flood risk

As our climate changes, more and more communities across Britain are experiencing the impacts of flooding. Rewilding can play a vital role in the natural management of flood risk. This report demonstrates how rewilding techniques, from placing blockages in streams and rivers to the natural regeneration of trees and scrub, can significantly reduce flooding, soil erosion and water pollution.

Rewilding Knowledge Hub Bibliography

As the first step in developing the evidence base for rewilding, we commissioned a study into the current science supporting rewilding. 

Main image: Philip Price