rewilding: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples

No. While charismatic megafauna like wolves or bison are often a focus, rewilding is fundamentally about restoring entire ecosystem processes. This includes reinstating natural fire regimes, river meandering through beaver activity, and soil regeneration, which can involve many smaller, less conspicuous species.

Not necessarily. Modern rewilding often seeks a new relationship with the land, where human activities like low-impact tourism, science, and cultural practices coexist with restored ecosystems. It shifts the focus from production (farming, logging) to provision of ecosystem services.

Conservation often aims to protect what currently exists ('preservation'). Rewilding is more interventionist and forward-looking; it seeks to actively restore an area to a wilder, more natural state than the present, often using historical baselines or future resilience as a guide.

Yes, in a scaled-down form often called 'urban rewilding' or 'ecological landscaping.' This involves creating spaces for native plants and animals to thrive with minimal management, such as converting lawns to meadows, building green roofs, and installing wildlife corridors.

The conservation practice of restoring an area of land or water to its natural, uncultivated, and self-sustaining state, often by reintroducing native species and allowing natural processes to function without human intervention.

Rewilding is usually formal, academic, environmental, technical in register.

Rewilding: in British English it is pronounced /ˌriːˈwaɪldɪŋ/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˌriˈwaɪldɪŋ/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.