REWILDING: Does it work?

[@Automedon2]

In New England (USA),by the mid 1800s, most of the forest had been cut for farms. As small farms went out of business and land was bought for state lands, the forests have grown back. It's a common sight in the forests to see the stone walls and foundations of extinct farms. At one time deer were almost gone from New England, as were wild turkeys, very few bears and coyotes. Today the deer are everywhere. Our population of bears is huge, as are coyotes. Cougars have been sighted and I won't be surprised if they re-establish. I love the fact that we have developed a better appreciation for our wild life and most people are very glad we have them. I'm wondering if the same is in the UK and Europe that such a large area has been allowed to revert to forest as a result of small farming becoming unsustainable.

[@RussTillling]

if you Google Knepp Estate you will see how much can be done on farmland in a relatively small area in 10 years. Beavers, turtle doves, storks, rare butterflies & birds. Knepp is now one of the highlights of UK wildlife. All done by introducing longhorn cattle, Exmoor ponies, beavers and Tamworth pigs. No wolves, lions, elephants or bears required.

[@rebeccaanderson5626]

@@RussTillling you are wrong Apex predators are always required . Lynx and wolfs should be released in the uk .

[@boredofmindgames4662]

It’s actually the beavers that improved the soil integrity

[@tofty21]

A great debate and one that should be on mainstream television

[@garyt6822]

I'm passionate about rewilding. However this was the worst non-debate on the subject I've ever seen. The overly flippant presenter obviously had not done any homework at all. And the guests looked phased and uncomfortable; obviously frustrated at having to answer semi irrelevant and divergent questions not wholly pertinent to the subject. ...Terrible to watch!

[@SWRural-fk2ub]

@@garyt6822 You can't have a half hour discussion programme on this subject with four guests that would be less superficial and the host knew that and knew he would lose his chief audience if he handled otherwise.

[@plumjam]

This lad loves his bears and wolves.

[@ailsaroberts6562]

Eat less meat and land requirement reduces.

[@silasbishop3055]

Meat is more calorie dense. You would use more land getting the caloric requirements from plants.

[@ailsaroberts6562]

@@silasbishop3055 It takes 10kg of plant protein fed to cattle to produce 1kg of beef. I don't know where you are getting your data but there are millions of hectares of land used simply to grow feed for livestock. I have been involved in farming for over 30 years and I can tell you without doubt that producing plant based proteins for direct human consumption rather than feeding it to animals reduces land requirements considerably on a calorie for calorie basis.

[@owlan99]

@@ailsaroberts6562 wrong, look up holistic grazing, and consider the emissions from shipping over the protein required, which usually comes in the form of soy and beans from areas of the world like south america, where the soil is shit so they have to cut down huge areas of the amazon for some millennial vegans

[@owlan99]

@@ailsaroberts6562 Oi, 2/3 of the world's land cannot be used for arable crops!

[@SunfishFan68]

New Name Meat should be consumed about two or three times a week, that closer resembles our natural diet where we wouldn’t hunt every day

[@רועילוי-ט6ו]

U.k need to bring back wolves link's bear.

[@vancamper1973]

Dose re wilding work??? Just come to East Yorkshire and see how farmers have been ripping up hedge rows for the last 20 years!.. it bloody works. We have fields a mile across, a green desert. So sad and it gets worse year on year.

[@brianbastarache6036]

The host bought up human population growth and NONE of the experts brought up that human population growth is the PRIMARY environmental problem that threatens all life on Earth, including our own. Missed opportunity.

[@Twobirdsbreakingfree]

Ecosystem "services". Natural "capital". Ecotourism. These people just can't stop thinking about the planet in terms of money and what it can give us. That mindset of exploitation and objectification instead of participating in and having a relationship with nature is the real cause of all the crises we're currently facing. As Pocahontas said; "come run the hidden pine trails of the forest, come taste the sun sweet berries of the Earth, just roll in all the riches all around you, and for once, never wonder what they're worth".

[@drts6955]

You're totally right. But try saving the planet on any other basis will inevitably fail. Unfortunately

[@wodenravens]

The problem is finding an alternative. Human relations with nature have always been socio-economic. Every society on the planet only lived in 'balance' with nature once it had reached the limits of exploitation of nature. If we wait until everyone has a sense of the intrinsic worth, or sacredness, of nature then it will be too late. That kind of monumental change takes centuries and centuries. Ensuring that some form of 'natural capital' is baked into our value system, and that externalities and 'polluter pays' principles are accounted for, is far more achievable, especially if implemented at the state level. I like Dieter Helm's idea of a sovereign wealth fund based on a nation's natural capital. Yes, the financialisation of nature does leave a bad taste in the mouth, but it's the only option given the timescales and effort required to change ideologies at the global scale.

[@RussTillling]

@@wodenravens Awesome comment. I would add that "burgers are bad for you and the planet. Reverse the ratio of meat and greens, and you and the planet will live much longer."

[@garyt6822]

I'm passionate about rewilding. However this was the worst non-debate on the subject I've ever seen. The overly flippant presenter obviously had not done any homework at all. And the guests looked phased and uncomfortable; obviously frustrated at having to answer semi irrelevant and divergent questions not wholly pertinent to the subject. ...Terrible to watch!

[@RussTillling]

I have to disagree. I'm a massive admirer of re-wilding for example on the Knepp Estate. I thought this was a well-balanced and diverse panel who all broadly agreed that there should be more cooperation and discussion between agriculture and environmentalism. let's have more of this please!

[@rebeccaanderson5626]

@@RussTillling did you read the common they are not against rewilding he was criticizing the video

[@brandonmusser3119]

Answer Food Forest plenty of nuts fruits other types of Edibles that can be grown alongside native trees

[@circusscribble]

didnt once mention the commons.

[@rebeccaanderson5626]

The commons of Scotland are actually in support of this except for a very small group of conservative farmers

[@savedfaves]

Herding is not economically unviable. Rotational grading systems can be used to great success to restore landscapes to keep animals in herds and move them on when is best for building soil biomass. I'm not against rewinlding at all, it has many benefits but it's not the only way we manage land and promote flora and fauna biodiversity and to improve topsoils and prevent erosion while growing protein and crops to feed localised populations.

[@RussTillling]

Sure. The land can sustain intensive grazing every few years possibly, analogous to crop rotation. However, I would say it would be better to have smaller herds of higher quality meat on a continual basis, and eat less of it.

[@רועילוי-ט6ו]

I hope u.k bring back links bear wolves use garding dogs like alabi kangal akbash kafkaz dogs.

[@dawienatral7083]

i didnt think Wolverines were ever native to uk,thought they were scandinavia canada and suck?

[@CrazyShores]

❤️❤️❤️🐗🐗🐗🌼🌼🌼

[@tbone8129]

They talked more about farming than actual rewinding. Not the greatest debate

[@davidprocter3578]

The PNG model for the production of palm oil, is quite clearly flawed, as essential as forest protection is to the planet and PNG , the knock on effect of this policy will be to drive small existing farmers off the land and then be turned over to palm oil production. Food security will gradually decline and food prices will rise as a consequence. Would it not be simpler to ban the international trade in palm oil ? it is a product widely used because it is cheap in an amazing array of consumables, for the most part quite unnecessary. On a personnel note I avoid products containing palm oil and have done for a number of years. But I must say the increase in the number of products using palm oil has been alarming, when just a few years ago it was not to be found listed. If we did not need palm oil for the last four thousand years why do we need it now???????????????????

[@berntoast3186]

yes a panel of british moops who have never done anything constructive have an opinion

[@morelcultivation9339]

these rewilding people got no clue about how farming works what so ever....or about nature.