Nearly 25% of European landscape could be rewilded, say researchers

Europe's abandoned farmlands could find new life through rewilding, a movement to restore ravaged landscapes to their wilderness before human intervention. A quarter of the European continent, 117 million hectares, is primed with rewilding opportunities, researchers report August 15 in the journal Current Biology.

They provide a roadmap for countries to meet the 2030 European Biodiversity Strategy's goals to protect 30% of land, with 10% of those areas strictly under conservation.

The team found that 70% of the rewilding opportunities in Europe lie in colder climates. Northern Europe—particularly Scandinavia, Scotland, and the Baltic states—and several highland regions in the Iberian Peninsula show the greatest potential.

"There are many areas in Europe that have a low enough human footprint, as well as the presence of key animal species, to potentially be rewilded," says first author and biogeographer Miguel B. Araújo of the National Museum of Natural Sciences, CSIC, Spain, and the University of Évora, Portugal. "We also highlight the need for different strategies depending on the conditions of each region."

The researchers established criteria to determine areas with rewilding potentials: extensive tracts of land, covering more than 10,000 hectares, with little human disturbance that feature vital species. Based on the size of the land and the types of animals that inhabit the area, they further identified two strategies for rewilding—passive and active.

Passive rewilding relies on natural recolonization, where animals gradually move back into abandoned areas on their own. The approach works best in regions with a healthy population of key herbivores, such as deer, ibex, moose, and rabbits, as well as carnivores, such as wolves, bears, and lynxes.

Regions without key herbivore or carnivore species would require active rewilding by reintroducing the missing species to kickstart the ecosystem's recovery. Both strategies aim to create a self-sustaining, biodiverse landscape.

Via Fix the News

Super Typhoon Yagi hits China’s Hainan, killing two people and forcing 1 million to leave their homes

Asia’s strongest storm this year, Super Typhoon Yagi, landed in China’s Hainan on Friday, bringing violent gales and heavy rain that killed at least two people and injured 92, state media reported, and forced about a million people in the country’s south to leave their homes.

The storm triggered widespread power outages, paralysing the tourist island province.

Packing maximum sustained winds of 234km/h near its centre, Yagi registers as the world’s second-most powerful tropical cyclone so far this year – after the category-5 Atlantic Hurricane Beryl – and the most severe of 2024 in the Pacific basin.

After more than doubling in strength since killing 16 people in the northern Philippines earlier this week, Yagi slammed into the city of Wenchang in Hainan on Friday afternoon.

A little more than an hour after Yagi’s arrival, Hainan saw power outages that affected 830,000 households in the province, the official news agency Xinhua said.

The storm lashed “Hainan with heavy rain and gusty winds, leaving at least two dead and 92 injured”, Xinhua said, citing local authorities.

The provincial power supply department had put together a 7,000-member emergency team that would embark on repairs as soon as conditions permitted, Xinhua added. By Friday night, power to 260,000 households had been restored.

The island’s main airport in Haikou was closed until 3pm on Saturday (0700 GMT), according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Ahead of Yagi’s arrival, the island known for its sandy beaches and glitzy hotels had cancelled flights and ferries, shuttered businesses and told its population of more than 10 million to avoid going out.