The Re-wilding in solving the Current Environmental Problems

Since its origin, the meaning of the phrase “re-wilding” has evolved, which has occasionally led to contradictions and confusion regarding the main techniques and conservation goals of the practice. The word was initially employed in the restoration of a self-regulating ecosystem with a complete domination of the huge predators, prior to the evolution of its meaning. In order to facilitate supposed natural processes that were there before various human operations like cultivation significantly affected them, re-wilding now focuses on the import or restoration of animals (Jrgensen 2015, 2). This helps restore the functioning of an ecosystem. Large vertebrates, for example, are critical players in the ecological food chains and food webs, but they were lost from the majority of the ecosystems after the humans dispersed from Eurasia and Africa. The restoration of the missing evolutionary potential and ecological functions of the lost North American megafauna by the use of the extant conspecifics and related taxa is referred to as Pleistocene re-wilding (Donlan et al., 1, 2006). The practice of Pleistocene re-wilding is seen as careful management in manipulating the ecosystem where the benefits and costs are accurately addressed by a locality by locality and case by case. In general, the term focuses on the vast wildlife, mostly the carnivores like bear and wolves (Chapron, 2005, 318). The reason why much emphasis is put on large carnivores is that they regulate the other predators as well as the prey (Fraser, 5, 2009). According to Dolly (2013), anything touched by the humans is no longer wild. Re-wilding has a vast number of potential benefits not only to the ecosystem but also to the people. This is realised by the fact that re-wilding have some positive effects on the three main environmental problems, which are climate change, flooding/water management, and biodiversity. It can be used as a tool for driving changes that will result in environmental conservation. Wicken Fen is a significant example of old nature reserves that are involved in the act of re-wilding. This paper will provide an account of the benefits of re-wilding concerning assisting in overcoming the three main environmental issues and with examples from the trip to Wicken Fen reserve.

Curbing the Issue of Climate Change

There are many projects in the country that has been created to assist in storing carbon for many years in the newly planted original plants, and this helps in addressing the issue of climate change. While re-wilding can help in curbing the crisis of climate change itself, its effectiveness is realized through the corporate policies and government policies where increased primary reserves and restored the relationship between them can help in stabilizing and revitalizing forests, reestablishing the vital balance between prey and predator as well as restoring the health of the river systems, oceans, deserts, prairies, coastlines, and coastlines (Hintz, 2007, 180). This way, the practice has the potential of stabilising much more than natural areas in danger. It can protect and enhance national security through carbon sequestering and safeguarding cleaner air, fertile soils, and fresh water (Nogués et al., 2016, 25). Coastal wetlands are not significant, but they are mighty since they provide a massive and valuable ecosystem service which is carbon sequestration and storage. Over the recent years, seagrasses, salt marshes, and mangroves have become recognised as a good source of blue carbon, since they can take a significant amount of carbon from the atmosphere and store it in the soil and their biomass for an extended period (Monbiot, 2013, 158). Every year, decision makers and policy makers investigate in the wetlands and marine conservations as a natural way of combating the issue of climate change to reduce the amount of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (Nogués et al., 2016, 25; Moorhouse and Sandom, 2015). However, many people have questioned the mitigation policy questioning whether the practice can be adopted to serve as a long-term carbon sinks and if it can be considered as part of the global and broader strategies of combating climate changes.

Wicken Fen is one of the examples of conservatives that help in carbon sequestering which minimise the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, and it was formed from a massively cultivated land to restore it. Wicken Fen is an example of a peat-based wetland. At Wicken, there is a designated national reserve of 269 hectares which as well comprises the region around the Mere to the southern part of Wicken Lode (McCartney and De la Hera, 2004, 190). These areas of the fen have original peat with communities of sedge and carr. The regions support uncommon and rare fenland fauna like marsh fern, fen violet, Cambridge milk parsley, and marsh pea. People enjoy this area of the fen from recycled-plastic-made boardwalks. The peat-land fen plays a crucial role in controlling the number of global levels of carbon concentrations and ultimately the climate change by storing large proportions of carbon in the biosphere. Carbon is stored in the peat through the accumulation of organic matter under anaerobic state, where the level of water in the soil is at the ground surface or close to it. Before starting the project, the water levels were low, for example, people were draining the water for agricultural production, and this had led to the depletion of carbon store through aerobic respiration. The restoration of the high water levels will change and maybe reverse, this reduction. There have been counterarguments on whether the fen offers a reasonable and sustainable source of carbon store. Peats allow for anaerobic respiration which produces methane where methane is about 23 times more harmful than carbon. There are a vast number of scientific researchers going on throughout the country to investigate this matter and come up with a conclusion as to whether the amount of carbon store in the peat fens outweighs the amount of methane released from the anaerobic respiration.

Re-wilding as a Water Management Practice

Every year, flooding costs the country a lot of billions to try to integrate the necessary mitigation policies and save the people from dying of natural disasters from natural calamities caused by poor water management like flooding. With the frequent weather events and increased cases of climate change, the country becomes more and more vulnerable to floods (Danielsen et al., 2007, 55; Cerqueira, 2015, 48). Several debates are going on in the country on how the issue can be mitigated once and for all. One of the solutions that the government ought to consider is re-wilding. Re-wilding is one practice that can significantly help in the curbing of the issue of flooding.

One of the major principles is that flooding leads to disasters in towns while the water originates from the countryside. This can be prevented by slowing down the rain in the fields and the hills. One way to ensure this has been met is through cultivating less land which is the re-wilding itself where people should consider abandoning some pieces of land to trap the runoffs (Danielsen et al., 2007, 55; Reed, 2009, 126). Leaving the ground allows soil structure to be formed, more rain is absorbed into the underground, erosion is minimised or entirely done away with, and pollution from fertiliser is reduced (Navarro and Pereira, 2015, 20). Most of the water from the wetlands have been drained so that the land can become agriculturally productive while providing water somewhere else. Additionally, when stormwater is allowed to stand in the peats and moorlands, it is held up there for a long period and this will prevent flooding in the lowlands (Reed, 2009, 126). Thirdly, the government is straightening the rivers so that they can be contained within the embankments so that they can easily be managed (Nogués et al., 2016, 25). The reduction of embankments in strategic point means that the river can flood safely, without directing water to towns. The flow of water from the higher point to lowlands can as well be controlled by using fallen trees and rocks. Beavers can help in this since they are good at the management of rivers. Studies have proved that beaver waterworks and dams can play a crucial role in slowing streams and reduce the frequency and height of the floods.

Trees are vital in storing more underground water, slowing down the rainfall which prevents the direct effect of rain on the ground, and water absorption which minimises the underground water that could otherwise cause logging in an otherwise bare ground (Nogués et al., 2016, 25). The roots of the trees provide a channel for the movement of water, and this keeps the ground more permeable. Re-wilding the country is specifically interested in a vast number of benefits which can only be realised by taking the natural approach to the management of floods (Nogués et al., 2016, 25). People, with the help of the government, can plant trees on the hillsides and allow the areas to revert to forests, and this will reduce the cases of flooding in the rivers and in towns which is usually caused by runoffs (Cerqueira, 2015, 48).

At Wicken Fen, the practice of re-wilding has dramatically reduced the threat of flooding by a great deal. The area is low-lying, and for most years, there has been a risk of flooding. The wetland reserve has suffered this issue of lower water table for a long time until it was rejuvenated. This can be attributed to the influx of some new assemblage of species, the contraction of some types of species of fauna, and the loss of a lot of typical species of plants in the area that used to exist many years ago. In the past, there were weak drainage practices in the area, and this resulted in the issue of flooding in the surrounding region. The water table can be associated with the ecological changes that have taken place in the fen over the period, but other factors like mowing also took play until the digging of peats and sedge harvesting started. The modern improvement of the drainage structures has lowered the water table. The internal ditches in the fen patented as land boundaries instead of what most of the people think, that they were meant to maintain the water table or was a means of transport. The river that flows through the fen-Wicken Lode river-is, not an artificial waterway but rather a natural one and calcareous water has leaked in it for a more extended period than it has previously been thought. On the river, Spinney and Howe’s banks were created to prevent flooding in the nearby areas and not for the purpose that most of the people think (to make the fen a catchment area).

Re-wilding and Biodiversity

Re-wilding provides a space for the resumption of ecological processes previously disrupted by human interference, and this allows biodiversity to increase. The changes in biodiversity occur in a way that the abundance of some species will increase (the winner species) while that of some others will decrease (the loser species) (Dinerstein and Irvin, 2005, 476-476). Most of the winner species such as the larger carnivores become extinct when more and more and is cleared for cultivation (Lorimer and Driessen, 2013, 250). Re-wilding increases the amount of the organic matter in the soil and ultimately the ability of the land to retain water and warmth and this increase the species of earthworms in the ground (Diack, 2011, 96). This leads to higher densities and biomasses of worms in the soil as well as other invertebrates that are soil-borne (Lorimer and Driessen, 2013, 250). Some species of birds like the woodpeckers benefits from the forest when the land is abandoned and growth of trees allowed. Some birds of prey benefit from the feeding on rodents which in turn feed on specified plant species. Grazers benefit from the reduced levels of hunting, and they are likely to thrive. Other large mammals like buffalos can also inhabit the area. However, the number and type of species in an area where re-wilding have been done depends on the geographical context of the region (Dinerstein and Irvin, 2005, 476-476).

The benefit of biodiversity can be seen at Wicken Fen where the area is often referred to as a “biodiversity hotspot.” It offers people an opportunity to observe a wide range of habitats and each of the habitats has a unique ecosystem interacting with one another and forming the bigger ecosystem which is the fen. The vast biodiversity at Wicken Fen is usually contributed by the intricate food webs, diversity of species, and the wide range of habitats. Many naturalists have been attracted to the site by the great biodiversity. Many species that are unique to the area have been identified. Many species of invertebrates like beetles, spiders, snails, and flies inhabit the place. The dominant species of damselflies are azure and emerald. Many species of dragonflies, butterflies, and moths also inhabit the place. The fauna species include milk parsley, marsh orchids, marsh pea, great fen sedge, among others. Dominant bird species are woodpeckers, sparrowhawk, teal, and gadwall. There are as well several species of mammals and other vertebrates.

Conclusively, the studies have shown that biological conservation or what can be referred to as re-wilding has offered the movements for preservation a spark. Wilderness is no longer a good playground for the people who are tired, but it is rather a requirement for the biodiversity conservation. Many species inhabit the area when it is left unaltered by humans. Both the plant and animal species inhabit the area where re-wilding has been done. Also, re-wilding helps in water management where the vegetation that grows after abandonment helps in reducing the amount of erosion and runoff, and it ultimately reduces flooding. Another significance of re-wilding is a reduction of climatic change primarily in forests, wetlands and oceans where the trees and other plants act as carbon sinks. Wicken Fen is an example of an ecosystem that has enjoyed all these benefits. As such, re-wilding helps by a great deal to reduce the threats of the three major environmental issues, that is, water management, climate change, and biodiversity.

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