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In 2024, the European Union approved the Nature Restoration Regulation - a comprehensive framework requiring restoration measures on twenty per cent of EU land and sea. But what does restoration actually mean in practice?
Jutta Paulus, Member of the European Parliament, who followed the entire legislative process, dispels some misconceptions: restoration isn't about creating wilderness everywhere. It's about transforming monoculture crops back into flower-rich meadows, converting single-species tree plantations into resilient mixed forests, and demonstrating that sustainable use can be more productive than intensive exploitation.
This episode explores how policy translates into practice through one of Europe's most successful rewilding stories. In the Netherlands' Gelderse Poort, Wouter Helmer shows how a strategic partnership with clay mining companies transformed polluted farmland into a thriving ecosystem that welcomes 1.5 million visitors annually and generates 25 million euros for the local economy, while providing effective flood protection.
The challenge now lies in implementation: how do you turn a Brussels regulation into thriving ecosystems across diverse European landscapes? And how do you ensure that European restoration doesn't simply shift environmental pressures to other parts of the world?
About the podcast
A scientific adventure across Europe’s hidden forests
What if rewilding Europe were a strategic board game where every forest hides a secret, and every move shapes the future of our ecosystems?
Welcome to an extraordinary audio journey that transforms the complex world of ecological restoration into an immersive, continent-spanning adventure.
In each episode, listeners make a “strategic move” through Europe’s diverse forest landscapes, uncovering how damaged ecosystems can recover and flourish. Guided by expert researchers and scientists, the podcast dives into the investigative work of identifying true wilderness, explores the delicate balance between conservation and human needs, and highlights innovative strategies that restore ecosystems to their full complexity.
Using the metaphor of a “game board”, complex scientific ideas become accessible, engaging stories, where every dice roll reveals new ecological mysteries and every square tells a tale about our evolving relationship with the natural world.
Credits
«WILDCARD. The Forest Game» is a podcast production written by Silvia Giralucci for the WILDCARD project and Starter.
Scientific Supervisor: Giorgio Alberti, University of Udine
Editorial Supervisor: Gesche Schifferdecker, European Forest Institute
Voice-over: Rahel Könen, European Forest Institute
Post-production: Santiago Alarcón, European Forest Institute