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Rewilding

Human activities (such as agricultural practices, overharvesting and deforestation) can harm ecosystem stability

  • Rewilding involves the use of conservation strategies to restore ecosystems to their natural conditions

Rewilding strategies may involve:

  • Species reintroductions – Keystone species and apex predators can control consumer populations to improve the biodiversity of vegetation

  • Improve habitat connectivity – The establishment of wildlife corridors between habitats allows organisms to occupy larger areas and access more resources

  • Minimise human activity – This may involve legislating exclusion zones where human activities (such as logging, farming or fishing) are restricted

An example of rewilding can be seen in the restoration of the Hinewai Reserve in New Zealand

  • This reserve was once used as farmland, but is now privately owned with limited human activity (e.g. bushwalking)

  • Some initial human intervention occurred (removal of non-native species), but now the reserve is being maintained with minimal management

Hinewai Reserve

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