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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0One Earth

Toward climate-smart rewilding: An integrated framework for biodiversity, climate change, and society

  • Gavin Stark1,2
  • Magali Weissgerber1,2
  • Néstor Fernández1,2
  • Laura C. Quintero-Uribe1,2
  • Marek Giergiczny3,1
  • Nikolaj Rauff Poulsen1,2
  • Nacho Villar4
  • Bjorn Mols4
  • Elisabeth S. Bakker4,5
  • Angus Monro Smith6
  • Georg Winkel6
  • Diogo Alagador7
22 more authors
  • José María Rey Beñayas8
  • Josep María Espelta9
  • Miriam Selwyn9
  • Lluís Brotons9,10,11
  • Tatiana Kluvánková12
  • Stanislava Brnkaľáková12
  • Judith Kloibhofer13
  • Reinhard Prestele13
  • Henrik G. Smith14
  • Alba Lázaro‐González15
  • Robert Buitenwerf16
  • Elena A. Pearce16
  • Jens‐Christian Svenning16
  • Joana Santana17,18,19
  • Pedro Rui Beja17,18,19
  • Francisco Moreira17,18,19
  • Sven Wunder20
  • Miroslav Svoboda21
  • Vlado Vancura22
  • Almut Arneth13
  • Arndt Hampe15
  • Henrique M. Pereira18,1,2
22 affiliations
  1. 1German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
  2. 2Institut für Biologie, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany
  3. 3Faculty of Economic Science, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
  4. 4Department of Aquatic Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Droevendaalsesteeg 10, 6708 PB Wageningen, the Netherlands
  5. 5Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AC Wageningen, the Netherlands
  6. 6Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AC Wageningen, the Netherlands
  7. 7Biodiversity Chair, Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development, MED/CHANGE, University of Évora, Évora, Portugal
  8. 8University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain
  9. 9CREAF, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
  10. 10CSIC, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
  11. 11CTFC, 25280 Solsona, Spain
  12. 12Institute of Forest Ecology, SlovakGlobe, Slovak Academy of Sciences, L.Stura 1774/2, 960 01 Zvolen, Slovakia
  13. 13Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMKIFU), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
  14. 14Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
  15. 15INRAE, University of Bordeaux, BIOGECO, 33610 Cestas, France
  16. 16Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
  17. 17BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
  18. 18CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
  19. 19CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisboa, Portugal
  20. 20European Forest Institute (EFI), St. Antoni M. Claret 167, 08025 Barcelona, Spain
  21. 21Czech University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Kamýcká 129, Praha 6, Suchdol, Czech Republic
  22. 22Wilderness Director of European Wilderness Society and Wilderness Advocate, Tamsweg, Austria
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Abstract

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework aim to restore 30% of degraded ecosystems. Both the IPCC and IPBES highlight the crucial role of ecosystem restoration in addressing the interconnected crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. One key restoration strategy is rewilding, which enhances ecosystem complexity with minimal human intervention. While traditional rewilding strategies often focus on benefits for biodiversity, we propose a climate-smart rewilding framework as a new approach designed to deliver climate benefits alongside biodiversity restoration. This framework seeks to integrate biodiversity, climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as socio-economic benefits and trade-offs. We illustrate how this framework can be utilized to identify areas across Europe where rewilding could increase carbon sequestration, enhance species’ abilities to adapt to the velocity of climate change, and maximize wildlife-watching benefits while minimizing the costs associated with livestock-wildlife conflict. Finally, we acknowledge some limitations of climate-smart rewilding, but we argue that its adaptability and low cost render it a promising solution to the challenges facing Europe and beyond.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{stark2026toward,
  title = {{Toward climate-smart rewilding: An integrated framework for biodiversity, climate change, and society}},
  author = {Gavin Stark and Magali Weissgerber and Néstor Fernández and Laura C. Quintero-Uribe and Marek Giergiczny and Nikolaj Rauff Poulsen and Nacho Villar and Bjorn Mols and Elisabeth S. Bakker and Angus Monro Smith and Georg Winkel and Diogo Alagador and José María Rey Beñayas and Josep María Espelta and Miriam Selwyn and Lluís Brotons and Tatiana Kluvánková and Stanislava Brnkaľáková and Judith Kloibhofer and Reinhard Prestele and Henrik G. Smith and Alba Lázaro‐González and Robert Buitenwerf and Elena A. Pearce and Jens‐Christian Svenning and Joana Santana and Pedro Rui Beja and Francisco Moreira and Sven Wunder and Miroslav Svoboda and Vlado Vancura and Almut Arneth and Arndt Hampe and Henrique M. Pereira},
  journal = {One Earth},
  year = {2026},
  month = may,
  doi = {10.1016/j.oneear.2026.101704},
  url = {https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05798674v1},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Toward climate-smart rewilding: An integrated framework for biodiversity, climate change, and society
AU  - Gavin Stark
AU  - Magali Weissgerber
AU  - Néstor Fernández
AU  - Laura C. Quintero-Uribe
AU  - Marek Giergiczny
AU  - Nikolaj Rauff Poulsen
AU  - Nacho Villar
AU  - Bjorn Mols
AU  - Elisabeth S. Bakker
AU  - Angus Monro Smith
AU  - Georg Winkel
AU  - Diogo Alagador
AU  - José María Rey Beñayas
AU  - Josep María Espelta
AU  - Miriam Selwyn
AU  - Lluís Brotons
AU  - Tatiana Kluvánková
AU  - Stanislava Brnkaľáková
AU  - Judith Kloibhofer
AU  - Reinhard Prestele
AU  - Henrik G. Smith
AU  - Alba Lázaro‐González
AU  - Robert Buitenwerf
AU  - Elena A. Pearce
AU  - Jens‐Christian Svenning
AU  - Joana Santana
AU  - Pedro Rui Beja
AU  - Francisco Moreira
AU  - Sven Wunder
AU  - Miroslav Svoboda
AU  - Vlado Vancura
AU  - Almut Arneth
AU  - Arndt Hampe
AU  - Henrique M. Pereira
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/22
JO  - One Earth
DO  - 10.1016/j.oneear.2026.101704
UR  - https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05798674v1
AB  - The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework aim to restore 30% of degraded ecosystems. Both the IPCC and IPBES highlight the crucial role of ecosystem restoration in addressing the interconnected crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. One key restoration strategy is rewilding, which enhances ecosystem complexity with minimal human intervention. While traditional rewilding strategies often focus on benefits for biodiversity, we propose a climate-smart rewilding framework as a new approach designed to deliver climate benefits alongside biodiversity restoration. This framework seeks to integrate biodiversity, climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as socio-economic benefits and trade-offs. We illustrate how this framework can be utilized to identify areas across Europe where rewilding could increase carbon sequestration, enhance species’ abilities to adapt to the velocity of climate change, and maximize wildlife-watching benefits while minimizing the costs associated with livestock-wildlife conflict. Finally, we acknowledge some limitations of climate-smart rewilding, but we argue that its adaptability and low cost render it a promising solution to the challenges facing Europe and beyond.
SN  - 2590-3322
SN  - 2590-3330
ER  -