Rewilding is the large-scale restoration of ecosystems to a point where nature can take care of itself. This approach aims to reinstate natural processes and, where appropriate, responsibly reintroduce ‘extirpated’ (meaning locally extinct) species. These key species are not only crucial to shaping their landscapes and habitats, but also provide essential ecosystem services.
In Africa, human activities such as agriculture, urbanisation, and deforestation have significantly altered natural landscapes, leading to habitat loss and species decline. African Parks and its partners seek to reverse these trends by reintroducing keystone species – in other words, species that play critical roles in maintaining the structure and function of these ecosystems. Such rewilding efforts also address the urgent need to mitigate climate change. Intact and fully-functioning ecosystems, such as forests and wetlands, act as carbon sinks, absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and helping to regulate the global climate. Additionally, rewilding can enhance ecosystem services such as water purification, soil fertility, and pollination, which are essential for human wellbeing.
Rewilding is a complex process, involving several steps:
Assessment and Planning
This initial phase involves evaluating the current state of the ecosystem, identifying the species that need to be reintroduced, and developing a comprehensive rewilding plan with potentially affected communities and statutory authorities. This plan includes considerations for habitat restoration and species selection, as well as alignment with international policy.
Habitat Restoration
Restoring the natural habitat is crucial for the success of rewilding. This involves removing the threats that caused the species to become extirpated in the first place or landscape to become unsuitable. Creating conditions that support the reintroduced species may include landscape or vegetation restoration and community engagement.
Species Reintroductions
Keystone species, such as large herbivores and predators, are reintroduced to the ecosystem. These species help to restore natural processes, such as grazing and predation, which are essential for nutrient cycling and creating suitable conditions for several other species to recover in the landscape.
Monitoring and Management
Continuous monitoring is necessary to assess the progress of rewilding efforts and inform adaptive management. This includes tracking the health and behaviour of reintroduced species, as well as their overall impacts on the ecosystem as measures of success.
Rewilding offers numerous benefits to people and ecosystems. First, by reintroducing native species, rewilding helps to restore the diversity of ecosystems. As a functional ecosystem, it provides essential services such as clean air and water, carbon sequestration, and soil fertility. In addition, rewilding can help to mitigate climate change by increasing the capacity of ecosystems to absorb carbon dioxide. Forests, wetlands, and other rewilded areas act as carbon sinks, reducing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. Finally and importantly, rewilding can boost local economies through ecotourism and create socio-economic opportunities for communities. National parks and wildlife reserves attract tourists, generating income and creating employment opportunities.
A notable example of rewilding in Africa is the reintroduction of white rhino to Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Sixteen rhino were translocated to the park from South Africa in June 2023. This effort was a collaboration between the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN), African Parks, and &Beyond, with sponsorship from Barrick Gold Corporation. Reintroducing rhino has not only brought the species back to the landscape but has also restored essential ecological processes. For example, the rhino have already started reestablishing the process of creating grazing lawns, which are shorter patches of grass that the rhino maintain to provide them with suitable forage but also provide habitat patches for other species.
As the world faces increasing environmental challenges, rewilding offers a hopeful and proactive shift in conservation thinking, moving beyond preservation to active restoration. By restoring ecosystem processes and reducing human intervention, rewilding can create more naturally resilient ecosystems that are better equipped to withstand the impacts of climate change and other threats. As more rewilding projects are implemented and important lessons are learned, this approach will play an increasingly significant role in global conservation efforts. It offers a hopeful vision for the future, where nature and human communities can sustainably thrive together.
Rewilding is a human intervention and involves a degree of risk. While losses do occur, every precaution is taken throughout the process and follows thorough planning by highly experienced veterinary, translocation, and park management teams, in line with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) guidelines. African Parks has conducted multiple translocations and reintroductions over the years – successfully moving over 8,000 animals from over 14 species. These efforts have resulted in bringing rhino back to Malawi, Rwanda, and the DRC. In collaboration with partners and donors, African Parks has returned giraffe to Angola; lion, cheetah, leopard, and wild dog back to Malawi, where we also translocated 500 elephants. In 2023 African Parks launched Rhino Rewild, a 10-year plan to rescue and rewild 2,000 southern white rhino and renew the wild habitats they require.
20 March 2025 - Dr Angela Gaylard, Head of Biodiversity and Science Support at African Parks