Nature-Based Economies

By putting nature at the heart of a green recovery, we can drive locally-led economic regeneration in a way that is good for nature, climate and people.

What’s the issue?

One of the greatest challenges of the 21^st century is to sustain human wellbeing without destroying our natural environment. We need to create prosperity today without compromising the prosperity of future generations. For powerful social and environmental reasons, we need to catalyse a transition from extractive to regenerative economies. Rewilding Britain believes that we can do so by putting nature at the heart of a green economic recovery.

Although a lot of talk and effort has been focused on using clean energy and manufacturing to bring jobs to our industrial heartlands in pursuit of a green recovery, rural and coastal communities are in danger of being left out. By nurturing place-based jobs and promoting small and medium enterprises built on regenerative principles, we can ensure that these communities benefit from wider green investment.

What’s Rewilding Britain’s solution?

We believe that a new and thriving ecosystem of employment can be built around the restoration and rewilding of nature. We propose the creation of localised Nature-Based Economies across 30% of Britain by 2030. We would like to see each Nature-Based Economy supporting a diversified, resilient and just economic transition alongside the large-scale restoration and rewilding of nature. 

Nature-Based Economies should incorporate:

• Core rewilding areas (at least 5% of Britain) which focus on restoring and reinstating as wide a range of natural processes, habitats and missing species as possible to form mosaics of native forest, peatlands, heaths, species-rich grasslands, wetlands, saltmarshes, kelp beds, seagrass and living reefs. There should be minimal or no human impact or extraction of resources.
• Regenerative areas (at least 25% of Britain) which support a diverse range of land and marine uses and enterprises, generating value for the local economy while allowing nature to flourish, e.g. continuous cover forestry, nature-based tourism, recreational fishing, regenerative aquaculture and high-nature value/​wild meats.

What does a Nature-Based Economy look like?

Our new report paints a picture, quite literally, of how a nature-based economy in the year 2030 would differ from today. Nature is rebounding in this imagined landscape: there are more saplings and scrub regenerating on the hills, the rivers are cleaner and less prone to flooding thanks to beaver reintroductions, and the peat bogs have become net carbon sinks again after being restored.

But, crucially, there are also people in this wilder landscape. People who are working on the land and sea, whether they’re restoring naturally-flowing rivers, mixing stock management with wildlife guiding, running community engagement activities, carrying out monitoring and research, leading recreational fishing trips, or learning from the Norwegian model to pioneer wild field sports. And more people are visiting the area to see the resurgent wildlife, visit eco-tourism projects, and spend their money in local cafes, pubs and shops. Rewilding and ​‘re-peopling’ can and must go hand in hand. 

Rewilding boosts and diversifies jobs

It’s a common misconception that rewilding means fewer job opportunities. After all, letting natural processes take the lead implies that fewer people will be needed to work the land.

Our analysis of rewilding sites across England in 2021 shows that’s not the case. In fact, rewilding has led to an increase in the number and diversity of jobs over 10 years. 

We carried out a detailed analysis of 33 of the projects within the Rewilding Network, covering an area of 53,175ha, of which 33,327ha have been assessed as rewilding. 

Over a period of 10 years rewilding led to a 54% increase in jobs and a thirteenfold increase in volunteering positions. Read more about the study in our Nature-Based Economy report.