Freshwater rewilding

2.3 Principles of wetland rewilding

As with all rewilding the main focus in wetland rewilding is to create a situation where natural processes can lead nature’s recovery. Often this involves removing the human footprint from the landscape and undoing the harm that people have done, then stepping back to let nature lead.

For wetlands this means restoring natural hydrology to re-establish natural water regimes. This can be achieved by removing drainage systems or other human infrastructure that artificially separate bodies of water. This allows more natural water flow and dynamics to resume, with knock-on impacts on:

• sedimentation
• water nutrients
• vegetation
• nursery and feeding grounds for fish species and birds.

Where wetlands have become too disconnected from wider natural habitats for natural recolonisation, or species have become locally extinct due to overfishing, hunting and persecution, wildlife reintroductions may be needed to restore these species to the wider wetland ecosystem.