Rewilding, an ecological restoration approach, aims to return landscapes to their natural state, allowing ecosystems to recover and thrive independently. By embracing rewilding, we can enhance biodiversity, improve ecosystem services, and reconnect with nature, ultimately fostering a more resilient environment and a deeper sense of harmony with the natural world. [[Ecology]] **Timeline** of key thinkers, debates, and publications around E.O. Wilson’s _Half-Earth_ idea and the broader intellectual movement of large-scale wilderness protection / rewilding. This isn’t exhaustive, but it captures major milestones and figures. --- ## **Timeline of Debate & Writing on “Half‑Earth” and Large-Scale Conservation / Rewilding** |**Year**|**Event / Publication**|**Significance / Commentary**| |---|---|---| |**1970s**|**SLOSS debate** (Single Large Or Several Small)|Conservation biologists debate whether one large reserve is better than many smaller ones. This is foundational: Wilson’s work on island biogeography is highly influential here.| |**1970s–1980s**|Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP)|Empirical research on fragmented habitats stemming from the SLOSS debate.| |**1980**|Founding of **Earth First!** by Dave Foreman et al.|Earth First! becomes a radical environmental movement; Foreman will later articulate “rewilding” in a conservation biology context.| |**1991**|_Wild Earth_ magazine begins publication|A key journal for conservation biology, wilderness advocacy, and early rewilding thinking. Foreman and others use it to bridge activism and science.| |**1992**|Dave Foreman **coins “rewilding”**|In _Wild Earth_, Foreman defines rewilding in its original activist sense: restoring large wild areas, re-introducing carnivores, reconnecting landscapes.| |**1998**|Michael Soulé & Reed Noss publish on rewilding (“core, corridor, carnivore”)|They formalise a scientific definition of rewilding: large core protected areas, ecological corridors, and key species (especially predators).| |**2003**|Boreal Conservation Framework begins|One of the first big ‘half-nature’ initiatives: calls for protecting and connecting at least half of Canada’s boreal forest.| |**2009**|Launch of **Nature Needs Half** movement|Formally launched at the 9th World Wilderness Congress. A coalition of scientists, NGOs, and conservationists commit to the goal of protecting 50% of the planet.| |**2016**|E.O. Wilson publishes _Half-Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life_|His most forceful statement: to safeguard biodiversity, dedicate half of Earth’s surface to nature.    Also in 2016, **Eric Dinerstein et al.** publish _“An Ecoregion Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm”_ (with the Nature Needs Half network) laying out practical ecological design for a “half-Earth” network.| |**2017**|First meeting of Nature Needs Half Steering Committee|Marks institutional commitment and planning for global expansion of the half-Earth idea.| |**2017**|Critique in _Oryx_ — _“Half-Earth or Whole-Earth? Radical ideas for conservation”_|Scholars raise concerns about equity, social justice, and feasibility: for instance, how will half-Earth affect indigenous / local people?| |**2017**|**First “Half-Earth Day”**|Wilson himself writes about it, emphasising the urgency of biodiversity loss and the moral case for dedicating half the planet.| |**2018**|_Wilding: The Return of Nature to a British Farm_ by [[Isabella Tree]]|A concrete, local case-study: the Knepp Wildland project in Sussex shows how rewilding can work on a former farm.| |**2013**|_Feral: Searching for Enchantment on the Frontiers of Rewilding_ by [[George Monbiot]]|Monbiot’s philosophical and practical reflection on rewilding in the UK, predating Wilson’s _Half-Earth_ but very influential in the public discourse.| |**2021**|Article “Thirty by Thirty and Half Earth: Promises and Pitfalls” by Howie Wolke (Rewilding Institute)|Reflects on scaling Half-Earth ideas and links them to the “30×30” conservation target (protecting 30% of land by 2030), and practical challenges.| |**2021**|[[E.O. Wilson]] Biodiversity Foundation actively promotes implementation|The Foundation begins building research, education, and conservation programmes specifically around the Half-Earth Project.| --- ### **Key Themes & Tensions in the Debate** - **Ecological vs social justice** The Half-Earth idea is bold ecologically, but critics (e.g. in _Oryx_) warn it risks ignoring local communities, land rights, and equity.  - **Feasibility & implementation** What does it _mean_ in practice to “set aside” half the Earth? Contiguity, governance, funding, and land rights are enormous practical challenges. - **Rewilding as a complementary concept** Rewilding (Foreman, Soulé, Noss, Monbiot, Tree) doesn’t always demand a human-free world; it’s more about restoring ecological processes, connectivity, and keystone species, rather than strictly drawing a line around “wild reserves.” - **Movement building** Nature Needs Half is not just a theory but a **coalition**, aligning scientists, NGOs, and policymakers toward actionable conservation goals.  - **Ethical foundations** For Wilson and many rewilders, there’s a moral imperative: humans are responsible for the current biodiversity crisis, and must act at scale to preserve non-human life.  --- If you like, Lord Thomas, I can put together a **reading list** of key books and academic papers (UK‑relevant and global) on this debate. `Concepts:` `Knowledge Base:`  `Knowledge Base:` [[Ecology]]