Circular rewilding is emerging as a powerful concept at the intersection of ecological restoration and the circular economy. It proposes that economic systems designed to eliminate waste and keep materials in use can, at the same time, regenerate ecosystems and protect biodiversity. Rather than treating nature as a passive backdrop to the green transition, circular rewilding places living systems at the center of circular economy strategies.
From Linear Exploitation to Regenerative Systems
For more than a century, industrial development has followed a linear model: extract, produce, consume, dispose. This linear economy has driven deforestation, soil degradation, water pollution and the fragmentation of habitats. The consequence is a dramatic loss of biodiversity and the weakening of the very ecosystems that support human well-being.
The circular economy emerged as a response to this problem, aiming to minimize waste and resource use through repair, reuse, remanufacturing and recycling. Yet, many circular strategies have focused primarily on materials and energy flows within human-made systems, paying less attention to the health and resilience of ecosystems themselves.
Circular rewilding adds a crucial layer: it insists that a genuinely sustainable circular economy must not only be low-waste and low-carbon, but also nature-positive. It must actively restore ecological processes, reconnect fragmented landscapes and allow wild species and habitats to recover.
What Is Circular Rewilding?
Rewilding traditionally refers to restoring natural processes and wilderness areas, often by reintroducing keystone species, re-establishing natural hydrology or allowing forests to regenerate. It is about giving nature the space and time to recover its own dynamic balance.
Circular rewilding integrates these aims into the logic of the circular economy. It seeks to design industrial, agricultural and urban systems so that:
- Resource use is drastically reduced through circular economy practices.
- Land and water freed from intensive exploitation can be restored and rewilded.
- Economic value is generated from the protection and regeneration of biodiversity, not its depletion.
- Nature-based solutions become a core strategy for climate mitigation and adaptation.
Instead of viewing rewilding as a charitable side project or a marginal conservation effort, circular rewilding embeds ecological restoration into business models, supply chains and local development plans.
The Ecological Foundations of Circular Rewilding
Circular rewilding is built on several key ecological principles that reinforce, and are reinforced by, circular economy strategies:
- Ecosystem connectivity: Continuous habitats and ecological corridors are essential for species migration and genetic exchange. Circular land-use planning can reduce fragmentation by clustering human activities and leaving larger, interconnected wild areas.
- Functional diversity: Healthy ecosystems contain a wide range of species that perform complementary roles. By reducing pressure on land and water, circular rewilding allows complex food webs and natural processes like pollination, predation and decomposition to re-establish.
- Soil regeneration: Soils are a critical interface between the biosphere and the economy. Composting organic waste, using regenerative agriculture practices and restoring wetlands help rebuild soil carbon and biodiversity, improving both productivity and climate resilience.
- Natural disturbance regimes: Fire, floods and storms are part of many ecosystems’ natural dynamics. Circular rewilding advocates land management that accommodates these processes where possible, instead of suppressing them at all costs.
By weaving these principles into how we design products, plan cities and manage landscapes, circular rewilding aims to create socio-ecological systems that are both efficient and regenerative.
Aligning Circular Economy Strategies with Biodiversity Protection
In practical terms, circular rewilding means rethinking the way materials, energy and land are used so that biodiversity is enhanced rather than eroded. Some key points of alignment include:
- Dematerialisation and land sparing: Extending product lifespans, encouraging sharing models and promoting repair services can reduce the demand for new raw materials. Lower extraction pressures and reduced land requirements for mining, logging or agriculture create opportunities for rewilding former production areas.
- Biomaterials and regenerative sourcing: The shift to renewable, bio-based materials must be carefully managed. Circular rewilding encourages sourcing from regenerative agriculture, agroforestry and community forestry systems that increase biodiversity, rather than from monocultures and intensive plantations.
- Urban circularity and green infrastructure: Compact, circular cities that prioritize reuse, local production and low-carbon mobility can free peri-urban land from sprawl. This land can be restored as wetlands, native forests or wild grasslands, improving biodiversity, air quality and climate resilience.
- Industrial symbiosis and habitat restoration: Industrial clusters that exchange heat, water and by-products can reduce their ecological footprint. Savings in resource use and land occupation can be channelled into large-scale ecological restoration projects around production sites.
By linking these circular economy strategies with explicit biodiversity targets, circular rewilding turns efficiency gains into ecological dividends.
Nature-Based Solutions as a Circular Strategy
Nature-based solutions are central to circular rewilding. They use ecological processes to address societal challenges, while also restoring ecosystems. Integrating them into circular economy planning creates multiple co-benefits:
- Flood management: Restoring floodplains, wetlands and mangroves can reduce the need for costly grey infrastructure, while creating habitats for fish, birds and amphibians.
- Water purification: Constructed wetlands and restored riparian zones act as natural filters, reducing the energy and chemical intensity of conventional water treatment.
- Climate mitigation and adaptation: Rewilded forests, peatlands and coastal ecosystems store carbon and buffer communities against heatwaves, storms and sea-level rise.
- Urban cooling and health: Green roofs, pocket forests and wild parks in cities can lower temperatures, filter air pollution and provide mental health benefits.
When designed through a circular lens, these nature-based solutions are integrated into existing material and energy flows. For example, composted organic waste can feed soil restoration projects, and treated greywater can irrigate newly rewilded areas.
Examples and Emerging Practices
While the term “circular rewilding” is relatively new, many existing projects already embody its principles, even if under different labels.
In some former industrial regions, decommissioned mines and quarries have become large-scale rewilding sites. Reduced demand for raw materials, thanks to increased recycling and product circularity, allows such areas to be retired from extraction. Over time, natural succession and active restoration create new habitats for plants, insects and mammals.
Agricultural landscapes are also experimenting with circular rewilding through:
- Agroecology and agroforestry: Integrating trees, shrubs and wildlife corridors into farmland can maintain productivity while enhancing biodiversity and soil health.
- Circular nutrient management: Manure and food waste are processed into compost or biogas, reducing synthetic fertilizer use and supporting richer soil biota.
- Set-aside and rotational rewilding: Portions of farmland are periodically taken out of production and allowed to rewild, offering refuge for pollinators, birds and small mammals.
In urban areas, circular construction initiatives that prioritize reuse of building materials and compact development create opportunities to convert abandoned lots or obsolete infrastructure corridors into ecological corridors and wild green spaces.
Governance, Policy and Finance for Circular Rewilding
Scaling circular rewilding requires supportive governance frameworks and financial instruments that recognize the value of biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Key policy levers include:
- Land-use planning that prioritizes habitat connectivity and identifies zones for rewilding linked to circular economy zones.
- Extended producer responsibility schemes that channel a portion of revenues from products into ecological restoration funds.
- Payments for ecosystem services rewarding landowners and communities for rewilding efforts that deliver benefits such as water regulation, carbon sequestration and recreation.
- Public procurement criteria that favor circular, biodiversity-positive products and projects.
On the finance side, green bonds, biodiversity credits and impact investment funds are beginning to support projects that combine circular business models with rewilding and nature-based solutions. Transparent monitoring, reporting and verification of ecological outcomes will be crucial to maintain credibility and attract long-term capital.
Social Dimensions and Community Engagement
Circular rewilding is not only a technical or ecological endeavor; it is deeply social and cultural. Communities living near rewilding sites and circular economy hubs need to be genuinely involved in planning and decision-making.
Meaningful engagement can help address concerns about land use, livelihoods and access to resources. It can also generate new opportunities, such as nature-based tourism, regenerative farming, ecological restoration jobs and environmental education initiatives.
Indigenous and local knowledge is particularly important. Many traditional practices embody circular use of resources and respect for biodiversity. Integrating this knowledge with contemporary circular economy strategies can strengthen both environmental outcomes and cultural resilience.
Challenges and Future Directions
Despite its promise, circular rewilding faces several challenges:
- Competing land claims: Land is needed for housing, food production, energy infrastructure and conservation. Balancing these demands requires inclusive, long-term spatial planning.
- Short-term economic pressures: Rewilding and ecological restoration can take years or decades to show full benefits, while many businesses and policymakers operate on much shorter time horizons.
- Data gaps and metrics: Measuring biodiversity recovery and ecosystem resilience in a standardized way remains complex, making it harder to integrate into circular economy performance indicators.
- Risk of greenwashing: Without robust standards, some initiatives might use the language of circular rewilding without delivering real ecological gains.
Addressing these obstacles will require stronger regulation, better ecological data, cross-sector partnerships and a cultural shift toward valuing long-term ecological health alongside economic productivity.
Circular rewilding offers a vision where economic systems do more than reduce harm: they actively repair and regenerate the natural world. By integrating ecological restoration and biodiversity protection into the heart of circular economy strategies, societies can move toward a truly regenerative, nature-positive future.
