What Is Rewilding? | Rewilding Europe

this video was supported by the Nick morne Foundation since well before humankind Nature has always taken care of itself however with the rapid increase of global populations and cities humans are now interfering with vital ecosystems causing them to disappear to save and restore these beautiful and essential ecosystems we must take action now to repair Nature's Balance but what can be done we're here in the rodopi mountains of Bulgaria one of the most biodiverse places in all of Europe to learn how the rewilding Europe team is using Innovative rewilding techniques to save the local environment and to see how this method could be applied around the world rewilding is a progressive alternative approach to conservation that acknowledges Nature's interwoven systems and complexities it centers around letting nature take care of itself but also provides a helping hand in recreating the required conditions of an area this can enable natural processes to repair damaged ecosystems and restore degraded landscapes rewilding Europe is an organization championing this approach to conservation across Europe from the river gorges and vast fields in the greater KOA Valley in Portugal to the ancient forests and Meandering rivers in the Afric Highlands in Scotland rewilding Europe is working with local communities to rewild Landscapes across the continent these rewilding projects are conserving Wildlife by using natural cycles to restore biodiversity and repair ecosystems the idea is to create the right conditions for nature to regenerate itself and become self-regulating as a part of this conservation strategy rewilding Europe is reintroducing formerly native species and ensuring that the number of essential predators and herbivores are increasing this helps restore balance to Nature's food chains for example if there's an abundance of predators and not enough prey the Predators will wipe out the remaining prey and then starve thereby wiping out the Predators from the area as well by allowing key species populations to return to balance levels ecosystems are also better able to cope and adapt to changes caused by climate change one area that is currently undergoing species restoration by rewilding Europe is the Adobe mountains found on the border between Bulgaria and Greece this landscape of forests mountains grasslands and rivers is home to one of the most biodiverse areas in Europe this area is home to vibrant habitats the house critical plant and animal life it's known for daunting Griffon vultures that Circle the sky is searching for food below grazers like wild horses and bison which dot the mountains and predators like wolves and brown bears we visited the rewilding team on the Bulgarian side of the mountains to learn more about the work that they're doing and to experience this incredible landscape for ourselves as one of its key functions the rewilding Europe rodopi team is working to restore the natural food webs of the area by monitoring scavengers like vultures and allowing for the numbers of important herbivores like fallow Red Deer wild horses and European bison to multiply after traveling over the Rocky Mountain Roads and deciding not to risk a river crossing this time we made it to the temporary home of the rodopi's newest residence we watched these young bison from a wildlife watching Hut built by the rewilding team so these were three animals that just came from Poland and they brought them to the site because they wanted to reintroduce more bison into the area and getting to see them so close was just incredible you could see how powerful they were this has been an ongoing effort for years and the team is pleased with the changes they've been seeing in populations recently my name is Nelly naidanova I'm communication officer our goal actually is to restore the whole circle of life on wife in rudopi mountains because of their occasion they are one of the richest biodiversity area in whole of Europe we started with a really small team in the beginning I was a volunteer there were a few people involved but gradually the team got larger and of course we got a really more ambitious in terms of the goals we want to achieve another team member working closely with the radopi deer population is Stefan my name is Stefan of ramov I'm biodiversity expert of rewarding cordobi Foundation I contribute to the deer Restoration in their dope mountains there's been a huge effort to build the deer population here over 500 fellow deer and 50 Red Deer have been released since 2014. Stefan showed us how the landscape has changed with the restoration of deer and why deer populations are a vital part of this ecosystem dear is important food for the wolves and the deer carcasses are reported on food for the vouchers so there is one whole ecosystem around them as well as the wild horses are important herbivores in this ecosystem and new herds have been introduced to the area with over 200 horses now living on the mountainsides oh yeah there they are [Music] the rewilding initiative goes beyond the animals and their habitats it also highlights the importance of involving local communities in order to protect local cultures and boost economies tourism is an important industry here and the reintroduction of species like vultures and bears is surprisingly bringing more and more people to the area to accommodate this the team has built six hides for visitors to watch the native Wildlife from without disturbing them in their natural habitats and to host photography tours which are becoming more popular a big group of vultures circled above us during our visit this Mountaintop hide vultures often get a bad rep but they are an essential part of a working ecosystem here of course there's been some hesitation from locals and people all over the world in the past when they hear about top predators being reintroduced into their spaces where they live but at the same time you have to understand this is not only your home this is also animals homes and they're absolutely essential whether large or small to keep this ecosystem going and healthy quite inspiring because I really believe that people could benefit from the protective nature but also people should be proud with this should be proud with this diversity of animals and species and all the these healthy food chain that we have here presented exploring this hugely diverse landscape Guided by a team who take great care and pride in looking after this land bettered our understanding of the importance of maintaining balance within all aspects of Nature and how we can help in looking after IT projects like rewilding rodopi have the power to restore and conserve a landscape while also benefiting an entire ecosystem and its people thank you so much for watching if you want to learn more about rewilding Europe then just click on the link in the description below and if you want to see more videos like this from us then make sure you hit the Subscribe button down below we'll see you in the next one [Music]

Channel: Going Green

Views: 2,110

Keywords: european bison, rewilding, rewilding europe, biodiversity, rhodope mountains, bears, european bear, brown bear in europe, bison in europe, wolves in europe, predators in europe, dangerous animals in europe, nature in europe, mountains in europe, nature, rewilding europe bison, european bison guide, european bison documentary, european bison uk, european bison herd, european bison sound, european bison coming back, nature restoration

Id: XsP0CTex4d4

Length: 8min 15sec (495 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 24 2023