Rewilding symposium on 3 December

This online symposium is on the occasion of Liesbeth Bakker's appointment as Europe's first Rewilding professor earlier this year, and was originally due to take place in April.

What exactly is rewilding, how does it work, where can it be done and what does it deliver? During this one-of-a-kind online event, highly-regarded rewilding scientists and experts from Rewilding Europe will address these questions by bringing rewilding science and practice together.

With a mix of presentations, videos and Q&As, the symposium will provide you with an excellent and accessible overview of the field of rewilding, also for those who are new to the topic. So please register if you want to hear more about the state-of-the-art of the philosophy of rewilding, rewilding experiences and work in progress!

Programme (you can download the flyer on the left)

• 09:30 Welcome and introduction

• 09:45 Rewilding: a new narrative in conservation, Paul Jepson (Ecosulis Ltd., UK)
  Rewilding is an ecosystem restoration technique, but what makes it different from other forms of conservation and restoration? Paul Jepson will address the narrative of rewilding to answer this question.

• 10:40 Rewilding European Landscapes, Frans Schepers (Rewilding Europe)
  Biodiversity loss, urbanisation and changes in land-use create momentum for rewilding Europe. Frans Schepers explains how these challenges can be met with positive outcomes for people, planet and profit.
   
• 11:35 Mapping rewilding opportunities in Europe, Nestor Fernandez (iDiv, Leipzig)
  Using remote sensing techniques and modelling to map land-use changes in Europe, Nestor Fernandez will identify where in Europe the opportunities are to perform large-scale ecosystem restoration under rewilding.
   
• 12:30 Lunch break
   
• 13:00 Rewilding at work: Zimbru (short film)
   
• 13:15 Restoring the role of megafauna in European ecosystems, Jens-Christian Svenning (Aarhus University)
  Very large wild animals, the megafauna, have largely disappeared from European landscapes. Jens-Christian Svenning addresses how their return may contribute to ecosystem restoration and biodiversity conservation.
   
• 14:10 How to measure rewilding success, Patrick Jansen (Wageningen University)
  Rewilding aims to restore ecosystems. Patrick Jansen addresses how the progress in ecosystem restoration can be measured, including monitoring techniques as well as the study design.
   
• 15:05 Tea break
   
• 15:20 Connecting rewilding science and practice, Liesbeth Bakker (Special Chair Rewilding Ecology at Wageningen University)
  Rewilding is increasingly applied to restore ecosystems. Liesbeth Bakker addresses what science can learn from rewilding practice, and how science may support the practice of ecosystem restoration.
   
• 16:15 Closing remarks
   

Please register here (registration is free). For more information or questions about the programme, send an email to l.bakker@nioo.knaw.nl