Landholder perceptions and attitudes towards the rewilding of private land: an analysis from Surrey, UK
Author(s)
Jacqmarcq, Maelle
Siggery, Ben
Collins, CM Tilly
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Rewilding is a conservation concept and practice which has gained traction over the past two decades, and is often perceived as a powerful tool to reverse anthropogenic ecological degradation. In the UK, Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS) have introduced the idea of ‘public money for public goods’, making some rewilding initiatives more viable for landholders. Many conservation organisations work with landholders to promote rewilding as part of local conservation strategies, but there remains a lack of understanding of landholder perceptions and attitudes towards rewilding. This research used semi-structured interviews based on the gaps identified in the literature to explore these aspects in a sample population of 8 landholders in Surrey, UK. Thematic analysis interpreted the importance of emergent patterns and implications in relation to existing literature. This research found that landholders associate many different meanings towards rewilding. These perceptions fall along two spectra, ranging from passive to active forms of rewilding and with different levels of impact on human activities. Landholder valuations of rewilding are profoundly influenced by their perceptions of its meaning, with more favourable attitudes expressed towards ‘low-impact’, active forms of rewilding. Concern was expressed about the need to balance rewilding goals with food security. This emphasises that understanding local views is essential to improve consideration of practical constraints, whilst helping to reduce polarisation and mistrust about rewilding. Conservation organisations should facilitate collaboration among landholders to kickstart the implementation of acceptable and context-specific forms of rewilding, playing a key role in achieving local and national nature recovery targets.
Date Issued
2024-12-31
Date Acceptance
2024-04-14
Citation
Ecosystems and People, 2024, 20 (1)
ISSN
2639-5908
Publisher
Taylor & Francis Group
Journal / Book Title
Ecosystems and People
Volume
20
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
License URL
Identifier
10.1080/26395916.2024.2344842
Subjects
AGRICULTURE
Biodiversity
Biodiversity & Conservation
Biodiversity Conservation
conservation
Ecology
Environmental Sciences
Environmental Sciences & Ecology
Environmental Studies
FOOD SECURITY
HALF
Jonathan (Yotti) Kingsley
land management
landholder
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
local context
Nature recovery
public access
Science & Technology
WHOLE EARTH
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
2344842
Date Publish Online
2024-06-09