Restoring nature in everyday life

Fri, May 31, 2024, 10:25 AM · 27:46

Nature is coming back, and in unexpected ways. Once-extinct peregrine falcons are also nesting in power stations, wolves are living in closed coal mines and beavers have found new habitats in cities such as Prague. For decades, we have protected national parks and endangered species. But in the meantime, we have lost much of the everyday nature that was part of our everyday life. Common birds, bees and butterflies have largely disappeared from European landscapes, as have flowering meadows, free-flowing rivers and wild wetlands. We cannot and will not go back to the past. But perhaps there is a lesson to be learned. Could an abundant and rich natural world become part of an urbanised society, a modern economy and a technological world? There has been much talk about rewildling of remote uplands, forests and coasts. Nevertheless, we can restore nature in everyday landscapes, in cities and in our neighbourhoods: as long as we put right policies in place and - perhaps most importantly - find good economic incentives.