See how nature is bouncing back in these rewilded landscapes

Nature’s ability to bounce back never stops amazing me,” says Esteban Brenes-Mora. The conservation biologist, who works for the environmental organisation Re:wild, is discussing his favourite subject: tapirs.

The long-nosed, charismatic herbivores are revered in his native Costa Rica. But they — and pretty much every other shred of biodiversity — were eradicated when a cattle ranch was created on the fringes of mountainous Tenorio Volcano National Park in the north of the country in the 1990s.

Today, following a decade of intensive rewilding at the site, with new plantings and the restoration of its lagoon, life is flourishing once more — and what’s now proudly known as Tapir Valley Nature Reserve is frequented by the creatures.

To Lisa Chilton, CEO of Scotland: The Big Picture, such natural “irrepressibility”, as she calls it, is all too familiar. The social enterprise-turned-charity was founded in 2008 to drive large-scale nature recovery and rewilding across Scotland. Today, it works with dozens of landowners and projects across the country, including Ballintean Mountain Lodge, the home of Peter Cairns, a photographer and founder of Scotland: The Big Picture. The lodge sits amid the Cairngorm massif, a major mountain range in the eastern Highlands, which has itself become emblematic of Scotland’s rewilding journey.

In 1995, the lodge and its land were the site of an over-grazed equestrian centre. But three decades of ‘letting nature lead’, to use the buzz phrase, has transformed the property into a teeming mosaic of grassland, woodland and scrub with a species-rich floodplain around the River Feshie.

It’s a reminder, says Chilton, that ecological regeneration can work at all scales. “I think there’s a feeling that rewilding is just for billionaires who can buy tens of thousands of acres and dedicate it to the process. But it’s far more inclusive and accessible than that.”

When Scotland: The Big Picture was being set up two decades ago, the concept of rewilding was still in its infancy. Now, it’s become a major movement, supported by cross-border groups such as Rewilding Europe, which brings together 100 initiatives across 29 countries, and Re:wild, which counts Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio among its backers.

The first step is always the cessation of the harmful activity, such as intensive farming, logging or overgrazing. Sometimes this is done proactively, perhaps through the purchase of a degraded site. More often, a shift in industrial patterns frees an area from further exploitation. One example is the Lusatian Lakeland project in eastern Germany, in which disused opencast lignite mines are being flooded to create Europe’s largest artificial wetland landscape.

Lake and mountain environments are particularly prized for rewilding, largely for one reason: water. When rivers originate in higher ground, reintroducing a healthy mountain ecosystem has huge downstream benefits, literally as well as figuratively. Lakes, meanwhile, are the quickest and surest way to supercharge a rewilding process. “It’s like when you dig a pond in the garden,” says Chilton. “You’ll immediately see life attracted to it.”

Reinstating water flow through the removal of dams is highly beneficial, as is ensuring land is naturally grazed rather than cut back. The aim is for an ecosystem to become self-sustaining once more.

Species reintroduction — the grey wolf in Yellowstone National Park in the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, for example, or the Eurasian lynx in Germany’s Harz mountains — may play a part. This can lead to what’s known as trophic cascade, in which changes at the top of the food chain have trickle-down benefits for every element of the environment.

But the disproportionate publicity given to the reintroduction of such creatures often over-simplifies what is, in reality, a highly nuanced term and process. “It’s just wolves, isn’t it?” says Charlie Burrell, parroting a common reaction when he talks about the topic of rewilding.

Burrell — Sir Charles Burrell, to give him his full title — is one half of the highest-profile couple in UK rewilding. His wife, Lady Burrell, is the author Isabella Tree, whose 2019 bestseller, Wilding, told the tale of how the couple transformed the Knepp Estate in West Sussex from a failing farm to a pioneering 3,500-acre rewilding project.

Now, Knepp Estate teems with life. The bodies of water across the estate are havens for dragonflies, water shrew and rare flora such as the water violet. Herds of cattle, pigs, deer and ponies roam the landscape. And some of Britain’s rarest creatures, including purple emperor butterflies and nightingales, have found their way here. There’s not a wolf in sight.

“We’ve been trying to get the message through for many years,” says Burrell. “Rewilding is a deeper, more philosophical way of thinking about our future and about how we interact with nature.”

Another big misconception is around people. The inferred corollary of the term rewilding is that humans must logically be excluded. In fact, the vast majority of successful projects have nature-human coexistence at their centre, whether that’s persuading local communities that there are economic as well as environmental benefits to the process or attracting eco-conscious visitors to help make a project sustainable.

Knepp Estate makes far more income as a thriving restored ecosystem than it ever did as a farm, with tens of thousands of visitors a year walking the footpaths, enjoying overnight stays and taking themed ‘safaris’ to spot re-established species. Similarly, travellers flock to the Lusatian Lakeland for breaks that would baffle those who recall the area in its former guise, while the Tapir Valley Nature Reserve is now a hotbed for eco-tourism.

“As a cattle ranch, perhaps just one family benefitted,” says Brenes-Mora. “Now that the site has switched to eco-tourism, it might be a dozen or more. It’s a message we’re always keen to get across: rewilding opens up opportunities.”

Six more rewilded landscapes to visit

1. Iberian Highlands, Spain

It wasn’t just the biodiversity that had gone missing from a great swathe of the Southern Iberian Chain mountain range in central-eastern Spain — the people had vanished, too. Harsh winters, labour-intensive farming and the lure of the cities had led to decades of land abandonment and depopulation. This was the backdrop to the Iberian Highlands rewilding project, whose 2.1 million acres include some of Spain’s most desolately beautiful expanses. The landscape is a mix of elevated plateaus and rocky ridges, dramatic river canyons and isolated pockets of ancient forest, laced together by a network of hiking and biking trails. Look out for reintroduced scavengers such as the Cinereous vulture; scan outcrops for the elusive Iberian lynx; and mingle among rejuvenated populations of Iberian ibex, wild horses and tauros. Three-hour rewilding safari, €25 (£22).

2. Rutland Water, England

Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Rutland Water is one of Europe’s largest artificial lakes. A series of hamlets were well and truly rewilded when they were flooded to create this biodiversity hotspot, and nature’s primacy has continued to be acknowledged since. There’s a 1,000-acre reserve at the western end; the lake and surrounding wetlands are a sanctuary for wildfowl and migrating birdlife; and water voles and ospreys are among the reintroduced creatures. The birds of prey have been a particular success story, with the Rutland Osprey Project celebrating its 300th release last year. Meanwhile, a 23-mile path around the lake’s perimeter attracts walkers and cyclists. And if ambitious plans for a 1,000-acre conservation attraction at the Burley Estate, on the northwest shore, come to fruition, then brown bears, wolves and lynx could soon be adding to the natural soundtrack. 90-minute osprey cruise, £31.

3. Apoyo Lagoon, Nicaragua

In a country blighted by deforestation, this 23,000-year-old volcanic crater lake serves as an emblem of conservation and restoration. Its importance as a catalyst for biodiversity was recognised before widespread exploitation could take place; the Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve was established in 1991, with strict environmental protections encompassing the threatened tropical dry forest on its banks. The result is an ecosystem that grows ever richer and more diversified by the year. Listen out for the throaty cry of howler monkeys reverberating around the undeveloped shores or join a nature tour to spot anteaters, white-faced capuchin monkeys, jaguarundi wild cats or the colourful, long-tailed motmot bird. The waters are clear and mineral-rich and, with motorised craft outlawed, there’s little to break the all-pervading peace. Two-hour guided birdwatching tour, $20 (£15).

4. Lusatian Lakeland, Germany

By decade’s end, this area two hours’ drive south of Berlin will be Europe’s largest artificial wetland landscape, with 23 lakes created from the chasms left by opencast mining. These bodies of water, some linked by navigable canals, are being used as the catalyst to regenerate surrounding heathland, grassland and forest, restoring habitats for rare plant and animal species. Tourism is fast gaining a foothold: many of the lakes are fringed by beaches with campsites and holiday parks, and there are options to rent canoes or sailboats. Cyclists, meanwhile, are drawn by the Lower Lusatia Mining Route, a pristine 320-mile cycle path. This isn’t a post-industrial landscape that treats its past as a dirty secret — museums and visitor attractions document the importance of lignite mining to the region. Kayak rental from €9 (£7.50).

5. Tapir Valley Nature Reserve, Costa Rica

When Central America’s largest mammal returned to this rewilded former cattle ranch, those behind the project knew they were doing something right. The creatures have since given their name to the reserve, set on the eastern fringes of the mountainous Tenorio Volcano National Park in the north of the country. Wetlands and lagoons mirror the forested flanks of the park; former pastures are being reclaimed by broad-leaf plants; and the humid, vine-draped canopy teems with more than 440 species of birdlife. The tapir, a herbivorous gentle giant, is the star of the various nature tours that showcase the reserve to visitors. But don’t overlook the frogs — some 50 species have recolonised the area, including one (now officially named the tapir valley tree frog) never before documented. Three-hour wildlife tour from $95 (£70).

6. Central Apennines, Italy

Central Apennines, the forest-cloaked spine of the Italian peninsula, is home to chamois, Griffon vultures, golden eagles, wild boar, Marsican brown bears and one of the highest densities of wolves in Europe. This abundance is testament to the space given to nature to reclaim areas once depleted by livestock herding and mountain farming. Rewilding efforts have focused on creating wilderness corridors between adjacent national parks to allow for safe movement and migration of such creatures. The tourism ecosystem is also flourishing, with landowners and local communities persuaded of the benefits of catering to nature-focused visitors over the more short-term commercial profit of hunting or felling. Options include rewilding weeks, wolf-spotting experiences based in a mountain refuge and trips to spot Italy’s ‘big five’. Seven-hour bear-watching guided hike from €35 (£30.50).