Toward climate-smart rewilding : An integrated framework for biodiversity, climate change, and society
(2026) In One Earth 9(6).- Abstract
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework calls for restoring at least 30% of degraded ecosystems by 2030, while the IPCC and IPBES emphasize restoration as central to addressing climate change and biodiversity loss. Rewilding, defined as the promotion of self-sustaining, complex ecosystems through minimal human intervention, has emerged as a prominent restoration strategy, yet its climate change mitigation potential is often underexplored. Here, we propose a climate-smart rewilding framework that explicitly integrates biodiversity recovery with climate mitigation, climate adaptation, and socio-economic considerations. Using Europe as a case study, we map potential synergies and trade-offs among carbon sequestration, ecosystem... (More)
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework calls for restoring at least 30% of degraded ecosystems by 2030, while the IPCC and IPBES emphasize restoration as central to addressing climate change and biodiversity loss. Rewilding, defined as the promotion of self-sustaining, complex ecosystems through minimal human intervention, has emerged as a prominent restoration strategy, yet its climate change mitigation potential is often underexplored. Here, we propose a climate-smart rewilding framework that explicitly integrates biodiversity recovery with climate mitigation, climate adaptation, and socio-economic considerations. Using Europe as a case study, we map potential synergies and trade-offs among carbon sequestration, ecosystem resilience to climate change, wildlife-based tourism opportunities, and the risk of livestock predator conflict. We argue that this integrative framework provides a practical basis for identifying and assessing restoration strategies that deliver multiple benefits across regional and continental scales.
(Less)
- author
- Stark, Gavin
; Weissgerber, Magali
; Fernández, Néstor
; Quintero-Uribe, Laura C.
; Giergiczny, Marek
; Poulsen, Nikolaj Rauff
; Villar, Nacho
; Mols, Bjorn
; Bakker, Elisabeth S.
; Smith, Angus Monro
; Winkel, Georg
; Alagador, Diogo
; Rey-Benayas, José M.
; Espelta, Josep Maria
; Selwyn, Miriam
; Brotons, Lluís
; Kluvankova, Tatiana
; Brnkalakova, Stanislava
; Kloibhofer, Judith
; Prestele, Reinhard
; Smith, Henrik G.
LU
; Lázaro-González, Alba
; Buitenwerf, Robert
; Pearce, Elena A.
; Svenning, Jens Christian
; Santana, Joana
; Beja, Pedro
; Moreira, Francisco
; Wunder, Sven
; Svoboda, Miroslav
; Vancura, Vlado
; Arneth, Almut
LU
; Hampe, Arndt
and Pereira, Henrique M.
(Less) - organization
- publishing date
- 2026-06-19
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- climate change, ecological restoration, ecological self-regulation, multi-benefit land management, nature-based solutions, spatial decision support
- in
- One Earth
- volume
- 9
- issue
- 6
- article number
- 101704
- publisher
- Cell Press
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105042131098
- ISSN
- 2590-3330
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.oneear.2026.101704
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2026 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
- id
- 2cbff234-fd40-4526-9529-fce7170241f1
- date added to LUP
- 2026-07-21 15:00:04
- date last changed
- 2026-07-22 10:23:14
@article{2cbff234-fd40-4526-9529-fce7170241f1,
abstract = {{<p>The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework calls for restoring at least 30% of degraded ecosystems by 2030, while the IPCC and IPBES emphasize restoration as central to addressing climate change and biodiversity loss. Rewilding, defined as the promotion of self-sustaining, complex ecosystems through minimal human intervention, has emerged as a prominent restoration strategy, yet its climate change mitigation potential is often underexplored. Here, we propose a climate-smart rewilding framework that explicitly integrates biodiversity recovery with climate mitigation, climate adaptation, and socio-economic considerations. Using Europe as a case study, we map potential synergies and trade-offs among carbon sequestration, ecosystem resilience to climate change, wildlife-based tourism opportunities, and the risk of livestock predator conflict. We argue that this integrative framework provides a practical basis for identifying and assessing restoration strategies that deliver multiple benefits across regional and continental scales.</p>}},
author = {{Stark, Gavin and Weissgerber, Magali and Fernández, Néstor and Quintero-Uribe, Laura C. and Giergiczny, Marek and Poulsen, Nikolaj Rauff and Villar, Nacho and Mols, Bjorn and Bakker, Elisabeth S. and Smith, Angus Monro and Winkel, Georg and Alagador, Diogo and Rey-Benayas, José M. and Espelta, Josep Maria and Selwyn, Miriam and Brotons, Lluís and Kluvankova, Tatiana and Brnkalakova, Stanislava and Kloibhofer, Judith and Prestele, Reinhard and Smith, Henrik G. and Lázaro-González, Alba and Buitenwerf, Robert and Pearce, Elena A. and Svenning, Jens Christian and Santana, Joana and Beja, Pedro and Moreira, Francisco and Wunder, Sven and Svoboda, Miroslav and Vancura, Vlado and Arneth, Almut and Hampe, Arndt and Pereira, Henrique M.}},
issn = {{2590-3330}},
keywords = {{climate change; ecological restoration; ecological self-regulation; multi-benefit land management; nature-based solutions; spatial decision support}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{06}},
number = {{6}},
publisher = {{Cell Press}},
series = {{One Earth}},
title = {{Toward climate-smart rewilding : An integrated framework for biodiversity, climate change, and society}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2026.101704}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.oneear.2026.101704}},
volume = {{9}},
year = {{2026}},
}