Jaboury Ghazoul, Professor of Ecosystem Management at ETH Zurich, argues that justice and equity are pillars for the success of rewilding projects. These processes aim to return lands to wilder states, but are often imposed without consulting local communities. The result is conflicts that jeopardize the viability of ecological restoration.
The technical dilemma of sharing costs and benefits ⚖️
Ghazoul identifies distributive justice as a central problem. While ecotourism benefits from the reintroduction of eagles and beavers, farmers suffer livestock losses and floods. Current compensation is insufficient, as it does not cover emotional, psychological costs, nor the loss of future land value. To move forward, projects must integrate social impact metrics and design sharing systems that do not ignore those directly affected.
Tourist eagles, flooded cows, and a check that never arrives 💸
The plan seems perfect: you release a couple of beavers, everyone is happy watching them build dams, and farmers are left with flooded fields. Then come the eagles, which occasionally eat a lamb, but hey, tourists take beautiful photos. The promised compensation barely covers the tour operator's coffee. And then they wonder why locals don't applaud the return to wilderness.