Origins and Destinations: the Rise of Rewilding and its Role within Ecosystem Restoration

The Ecosystem Restoration Thematic Group of IUCN’s Commission on Ecosystem Management (CEM) hosts a monthly webinar series "Ecosystem Restoration: Global Initiatives in Science and Practice" in 2020. Please join us next week for the February webinar presentation by Steve Carver and Ian Convery, Co-chairs of the IUCN CEM Rewilding Task Force (abstract and bio attached and below): Origins and Destinations: the Rise of Rewilding and its Role within Ecosystem Restoration Friday February 21st from 12-1 EST (UTC-5) Origins and Destinations: the Rise of Rewilding and its Role within Ecosystem Restoration Abstract: The presentation deals with the origins of the rewilding movement from North America to Europe and beyond, explaining how it has developed from an ecological restoration process to a movement involving hearts and minds. We will provide some brief historical background before describing the work of the IUCN CEM Rewilding Task Force and the draft rewilding principles developed over the last two years. We will finish by outlining current thinking on rewilding and possible future directions, before placing these in the context of ongoing debates on the relationship between ecological restoration and rewilding. Presenter Bio: Steve is a Geographer with interests in GIS, landscape assessment and environmental modelling with particular respect to wilderness, wild land and rewilding. He is Director of the Wildland Research Institute and a senior lecturer in geography at the University of Leeds where he has worked for the last 27 years. He has worked in UK, Europe, North America, Greenland and Siberia. He currently Co-chair of the IUCN CEM Rewilding Task Force along with Ian Convery. When not drawing maps of wild places, you can either find Steve climbing and skiing in them or in his workshop messing with vintage motorcycles. You can register at: https://umontana.zoom.us/meeting/register/3ff997a4410f85a766858a512be5123a If you have already registered for a previous monthly session, the link to join remains the same each month and was included in your original ZOOM registration confirmation email (email subject line: “Ecosystem Restoration: Global Initiatives in Science and Practice Confirmation"). If you would like to have the confirmation email resent, email Brock Blevins at bblevins37@gmail.com. The objective of the webinar series is to provide a forum for IUCN and CEM members, as well as restoration enthusiasts and practitioners across the globe, to share insight and knowledge about ecological restoration and to provide opportunities for direct engagement on global initiatives. Each month, a different speaker will give a 40-minute presentation on their work. Topics include global initiatives, technical guidance, regional perspectives, and synergies in restoration activities across IUCN. Webinars will be held the 3rd Friday of each month from 12 to 1 pm Eastern EST (UTC-5) using the platform “Zoom”. We have many great topics this year and we look forward to your participation, Cara Nelson (ERTG Lead - (cara.nelson@mso.umt.edu) and Brock Blevins (ERTG Co-Lead - bblevins37@gmail.com)