Bertarelli Summer2024 FINAL - Flipbook - Page 5
S P EC IAL IS S UE NOT E
On Rewilding
BY E RNE STO B E RTARE L L I
CO - C HAIR, B E RTARE L L I FO UNDAT IO N
T
HROUGHOUT THE AGES , as we have crisscrossed the ocean, humanity has repeatedly
introduced new species to different lands.
Migration, a natural phenomenon, has played
a pivotal role in species evolution, shaping our environment for millennia. Yet, in recent history, the scale and
pace of these introductions has undeniably taken a toll
on the natural world, leading even to the extinction of
endemic species. The detrimental impact of invasive
species has been evident for centuries and I have seen
for myself, when visiting the remote islands of the Chagos Archipelago, how rats have decimated regionally
important bird populations across many of the islands.
Considering the adverse impact humans have had
on our precious home, planet Earth, the questions arise:
Can we reverse these human-induced introductions?
And if so, is it worthwhile given the myriad other challenges we face? Increasingly, the answer to both these
questions is “yes.”
There are 465,000 islands around the world that
together support unique biodiversity and human societies that are found nowhere else. Yet, paradoxically,
they are also extinction epicentres that are threatened
by local and global stressors—an incredible 75 percent
of all amphibian, bird, mammal, and reptile extinctions
have occurred on islands.
Islands with seabirds and other native wildlife
boast nutrient levels in the surrounding ocean that
exceed those around islands without seabirds by a factor of more than 250 times. These islands have 50 percent more fish in their waters and have coral reefs
that recover four times faster after bleaching events.
Healthy islands support a healthy ocean.
Scientists and conservationists have irrefutably demonstrated that restoring and rewilding oceanic islands is not only possible, but also achievable.
Advances in our understanding of the biological processes on islands enable us to better anticipate the
effects, and necessary scope, of successful rewilding
and restoration efforts. Modern technology and management techniques, coupled with traditional knowledge and community engagement, has transformed
what were once risky ventures into well informed initiatives with higher likelihoods of success.
As our understanding of the link between terrestrial islands and the adjacent marine ecosystems
grows, it becomes increasingly evident that removing
invasive animals has an effect that reaches far beyond
the sandy shores of these remote rocky outposts in the
middle of the ocean. Scientific research has shown the
pivotal role that healthy islands play in fostering the
recovery of coral populations after bleaching events,
as well as in enhancing the abundance and diversity
of marine animal and plant communities. In a world
confronted by climate change, the significance of providing every possible assistance to the ocean cannot
be overstated.
That is why the Bertarelli Foundation, in partnership
with Re:wild and Nautilus, brought scientists and conservationists together at a special symposium on the
periphery of last year’s Art Basel: Miami. They talked,
not with pessimism about how dire is the situation we
find ourselves in, but instead with optimism about what
has been done and what can be done to improve the
health of the ocean through rewilding.
From that symposium was born this special print
edition, Rewilding, in which we gathered some of the
best reflections from the conference, and also some
new stories, all about restoring and protecting nature.
We hope you enjoy it.
“Natural history is an art form. Understanding the
variability of coral reefs, or any natural ecosystems is
an art form,” says Stuart Sandin in “What ‘Wild’ Really
Means.” He continues, “We need to recognize that each
of these islands and reefs has its own story, and needs
its own level of support and caring to restore it to a
wild state.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
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