What can early human farmers teach us about rewilding today?

clock • 5 min read
Yuanyang Hani Rice Terraces in southeastern Yunnan province, China | Credit: iStock
Image:

Yuanyang Hani Rice Terraces in southeastern Yunnan province, China | Credit: iStock

The very first farmers hundreds of thousands of years ago often made landscapes even more biodiverse, which may offer lessons for rewilding efforts today, argue Jonathan D. Gordon and Brennen Fagan from the University of York

You don't need to read the news or scroll through Instagram for long to stumble across the latest example of a rare and beautiful species that has gone extinct. Since AD1500, at least 705 vertebrate species...

To continue reading this article...

Join BusinessGreen

In just a few clicks you can start your free BusinessGreen Lite membership for 12 months, providing you access to:

  • Three complimentary articles per month covering the latest real-time news, analysis, and opinion from Europe’s leading source of information on the Green economy and business
  • Receive important and breaking news stories via our daily news alert
  • Our weekly newsletter with the best of the week’s green business news and analysis

Join now

 

Already a BusinessGreen member?

Login

More on Biodiversity

Step Up for Nature: SBTN announces first cohort of companies to join new nature initiative

Step Up for Nature: SBTN announces first cohort of companies to join new nature initiative

Growing list of companies share their timelines and plans for delivering on science-based nature targets

clock 04 December 2025 • 2 min read
Don't blame the bats for HS2's blunders

Don't blame the bats for HS2's blunders

When nature considerations are designed in from the start, it saves developers time, money and reputations, writes Sally Hayns, CEO of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM)

Sally Hayns, CIEEM
clock 02 December 2025 • 4 min read
From 'forever chemicals' to landscape recovery: The new Environmental Improvement Plan at a glance

From 'forever chemicals' to landscape recovery: The new Environmental Improvement Plan at a glance

BusinessGreen's all-you-need-to-know guide to the government's wide-ranging new Environmental Improvement Plan

Stuart Stone
clock 01 December 2025 • 17 min read