Rewilding Expertise Centre

Planken Wambuis met grote grazers

Rewilding is increasingly applied across the world to stimulate biodiversity recovery, improving ecosystem functioning and mitigate and adapt to climate change. There is increasing experience with rewilding in practice and through research. To synthesize this information, identify knowledge gaps and make knowledge on rewilding available, the Rewilding Expertise Centre started in September 2025. Over time the Rewilding Expertise Centre aims to grow into a network of rewilding researchers, practitioners and any holders of knowledge on rewilding and function as a knowledge hub for rewilding information and education.

Mission

The Rewilding Expertise Centre aims to develop and share knowledge on rewilding principles and outcomes. It does so by bringing together rewilding expertise from science and practice and making this knowledge available

Wetland rewilding
Nacho Villar

Looking back on a succesfull Symposium Evidence-based Rewilding 20 March 2026

If you are interested in delving into these topics or watching the symposium again, you can watch all the lectures on the YouTube channel of ARK Rewilding Netherlands.

During this one-of-a-kind-event, national and international speakers from science and practice explored how to build robust evidence for rewilding and demonstrate its impact.

Lectures can be 

Using real-world examples from iconic rewilding areas across Europe, the event highlighted wetlands as nature-based solutions and trophic rewilding with large herbivores. From remote sensing and GPS-collared animals to insights from 35 years of rewilding, participants discover how conservation evidence is built in practice.

With a mix of presentations, videos and posters, the event offered an accessible overview of evidence-based rewilding in action. The symposium also marks the launch of the Rewilding Expertise Centre on World Rewilding Day!

Flyer symposium
Programme Symposium Evidence_based Rewilding

Programme Symposium Evidence_based Rewilding 20 March 2026

What is rewilding

Rewilding is giving more room to natural processes

Konik horses
Nacho Villar

Contact

The Rewilding Expertise Centre is an initiative from the Chair in Rewilding Ecology, a collaboration between Wageningen University and the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), held by Prof. Liesbeth Bakker. The Rewilding Expertise Centre is operated by Prof. Liesbeth Bakker and Dr. Nacho Villar, researcher at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW).

For more information, please send an email to rewilding@nioo.knaw.nl

Initiators