Rewilding: restoring environments, threatening place?
- Location:
- Teams - Online
- Time:
- Wednesday 9 February 2022, 12:10–13:10
- Contact:
- a.sedlmaier@bangor.ac.uk
Sophie Wynne-Jones - Bangor University
Rewilding is increasingly being promoted as a means to address the interconnected crisis of climate change and biodiversity loss. However, from a social perspective, it can be controversial with concerns over the changes to place that could ensue. Experiences in Wales, in particular, demonstrate the strength of opposition felt in some communities. In this talk, I will discuss insights from research conducted with stakeholders in Wales over the last 15 years, centring on the experiences of the Cambrian Wildwood and Summit to Sea projects in Mid-Wales. I will explore the role of place attachment and out associated sense of identity in rewilding conflict, alongside the importance of local values and ways of knowing. Overall, the talk will refplect on the balance between meeting environmental objectives and attending to socio-cultural priorities.
Co-convened by the Places of Climate Change group