Nature recovery

1 Core concepts

Across Europe, many natural processes have been disrupted or completely removed from the landscape by human intervention – particularly since the industrial revolution.

Humans have:

• Cultivated huge tracts of land, introduced non-native species, deforested old-growth areas, and replaced broadleaf woodland with coniferous plantations.
• Dammed, widened, and straightened waterways, burned peatland, and drained wetlands.
• Built infrastructure such as roads and railways that prevent wild animals from roaming across the landscape.
• Reduced wildlife populations to very low densities, even in protected areas.