Applying conventional funding mechanisms to rewilding: the opportunities and challenges for funding rewilding in Europe

As we progress through the United Nations' “Decade of Restoration”, we face the challenge of identifying and developing restoration funding mechanisms for two reasons. First, given past failures at the global level to meet restoration goals, funding mechanisms are needed that allow for scaling up restoration efforts. Second, restoration approaches are changing, with an increasing focus on functional and dynamic restoration goals. Rewilding is an emerging ecological restoration strategy that addresses both of these challenges by restoring self-sustaining complex ecosystems characterized by minimal human interference. As of yet there has been little attention paid to rewilding in the discussion around restoration funding. We suggest that rewilding offers a promising avenue for restoration funding in Europe. However, the unique characteristics of rewilding may also lead to challenges when attempting to tap into existing funding streams, which may need to be modified to better suit rewilding special needs.