Rewilding: The Radical New Science of Ecological Recovery

Description

Nature conservation in the 21st century has taken a radical new turn. Instead of conserving particular species in nature reserves as 'museum pieces', frozen in time, the thinking now is that we should allow landscape-sized areas to 'rewild' according to their own self-determined processes. By fencing off large areas and introducing large herbivores, along with apex predators such as wolves, dynamic new habitats are already being created. These 'self-willed' areas will develop in ways that cannot always be predicted, and they may not conform to our traditional ideas of wildlife habitats, but they will form a robust and rich ecology which will be strong enough to withstand future climate changes and species shifts. In this highly topical book, the first popular account of the science of rewilding, practising ecologists Paul Jepson and Cain Blythe explore the ongoing scientific discoveries that are emerging from this fascinating field.

Paul Jepson was until recently a director of Oxford University's MSc course in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management, and is a regular contributor to TV and radio. Cain Blythe specialises in habitat restoration, nature recovery and the use of technology in conservation.

Straightforward and useful ... In offering hope rather than pessimism for humanity's care of the environment, Jepson and Blythe's well-explained primer will strike a chord with conservation-minded readers -- Publishers Weekly Compelling ... [a] succinct and objective account * Financial Times * A hugely useful and fascinating resume of rewilding - what it means, where it came from, why it's important and where it's going. Jepson and Blythe have done a masterly job, explaining the science behind rewilding in an accessible, honest and compelling way. It deserves to be widely read and become a book of great influence. * Isabella Tree, author of Wilding * Rewilding ... makes a compelling case for the need to re-evaluate how we treat the planet and its natural resources. -- Stephen Moss