Intelligenct, efficient and cost reducing - and no, I'm not talking about AI

When you think about tackling climate change and nature loss at scale, what do you picture? Massive tree planting schemes? “Intelligent” technological carbon capture? While these have their place, there is another way. One which harnesses a different kind of intelligence - that honed by millions of years of evolution: nature itself. And often, harnessing natural processes present not only a more powerful solution, but a lower cost one, too.  

Rewilding is increasingly recognised as one of the most cost-effective tools in our tool box. The logic is simple: instead of paying humans to micromanage landscapes - planting saplings, building flood defences and heavily managing waterways, we restore the natural processes that do this work for free. 

A study published in the scientific journal “Nature” in 2020 found that restoring just 30% of the world’s converted lands to their natural state could prevent over 70% of projected extinctions and soak up nearly half of the carbon dioxide built up in the atmosphere since the industrial revolution. Crucially, the researchers found this to be a low-cost solution compared to other mitigation strategies, largely because natural regeneration requires less capital investment than active restoration. This means that when you invest in rewilding not only are you supporting a move toward rewilding 30% of Britain by 2030 - you’re also choosing a restoration mechanism that could enable your investment to go further, generating greater positive environmental impacts per £. 

In the UK, the logic holds up on the ground. Projects like the Knepp Estate have shown that moving away from intensive agriculture to a rewilding model can turn a loss-making farm into a profitable, biodiversity-rich ecosystem. By stepping back and allowing scrub to regenerate and beavers to manage water flow, we save money on flood damage and water treatment costs.

Ultimately, rewilding isn’t just about bringing back wildlife; it’s about balancing the books. It turns out that the most efficient workforce we have is nature itself.

References:

Strassburg, B.B.N., et al. (2020). Global priority areas for ecosystem restoration. Nature.

Tree, I. (2018). Wilding: The Return of Nature to a British Farm. (Case study on the Knepp Estate).**