The Case for Rewilding Ireland: A Practical and Evidence Based Case for Returning Land to Nature.

Ireland is a small island situated on the west coast of Europe. It has a population of 5.3 million inhabitants. The country is widely recognised for its contribution to tourism, farming, horse breeding, music, sport and literature.

Regarding biodiversity, climate change and rewilding, many inhabitants hold the view that we are too small to matter and should therefore be left alone to mind our own business.

However, the reality on the ground is very different. Per capita, Ireland is among the worst performers in Europe, producing approximately 10 to 11 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually, the second highest rate in the EU. Ireland also ranks in the bottom 10% globally for biodiversity intactness, with wildlife continuing to decline, mainly due to habitat loss. Most of our freshwater lakes and rivers are in poor condition. Our aggressively intensified farming practices are heavily reliant on chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Some experts claim that if current chemically intensive agricultural practices continue, we may have only around one hundred harvests remaining.

Dublin’s traffic congestion is among the worst in Europe, and the M50 orbital motorway has effectively become a permanent car park. New homelessness figures confirm that over 17,000 people are now without a home, a figure that reflects the broader failure to manage our environment, infrastructure and resources in a sustainable and equitable way.

Internationally, people express horror at the large-scale deforestation taking place in the Amazon. Relative to deforestation, Ireland’s record is among the worst in the world, with approximately 80% of our original forests having been cleared.

In January and February 2026, large parts of the country were flooded because of persistent and unprecedented rainfall. The same heavy rainfall caused significant harm to livestock and wildlife, with birds unable to forage effectively for food.

The need to find a new and more sustainable way of living is therefore urgent.

Structural Change to Deliver Ecological Recovery.

The problems outlined above are well documented. Climate activist Greta Thunberg sat outside the Swedish Parliament for an extended period calling for change, and has since travelled globally in an effort to accelerate climate action. David Attenborough has produced numerous television programmes highlighting the fragile state of the planet. Professor Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University has repeatedly stated that we are damaging this planet as if another were available to replace it. Noam Chomsky has also spoken and written extensively on these issues, as have other climate scientists, including Katharine Hayhoe of Texas Tech University.

In recent years, various proposals aimed at creating a more sustainable way of living have been introduced, including wind farms, solar panels, photovoltaic panels, regenerative farming and large-scale building retrofitting. While these are all positive initiatives, they require substantial investment and significant time to deliver system wide impact.

One direct approach to restoring ecological stability is rewilding, that is, returning land and sea back to nature. According to E. O. Wilson, in order to live in balance with the natural world, approximately 50% of the Earth’s land and ocean surface would need to be allocated primarily to nature. Currently, only about 18% of the Earth’s land surface and less than 8% of the ocean surface is formally protected.

Ecological Recovery at Knepp and Dunsany Estates.

Rewilding is a process whereby land is returned to nature. However, it is a process that must be carefully planned, managed and monitored.

In 2018, Isabella Tree and her husband Charlie Burrell published the book Wilding. In it, they describe how they converted a 1,400 hectare arable estate in Sussex into a rewilded landscape at Knepp Estate. Under intensive farming, reliant on chemical fertilisers and pesticides, soil quality had declined and the business had become financially unviable. Following the transition to extensive grazing and natural regeneration, biodiversity increased significantly and the estate diversified into profitable eco-tourism and organic meat production.

At Dunsany, Co Meath, Randal Plunkettadopted a similar low intervention approach across approximately 400 hectares of his estate at Dunsany Castle. Large areas were removed from conventional production and allowed to regenerate naturally. Native woodland expansion, wetland recovery and the return of species such as barn owls and hares have been recorded. The estate has also introduced biodiversity monitoring, educational outreach and low intensity grazing systems. In addition, the approach has enhanced on site carbon sequestration, improved natural water retention and flood attenuation, strengthened soil structure and microbial activity, and increased habitat connectivity across the wider landscape mosaic.

The Strategic Imperative for Rewilding.

Around 6,000 years ago, Ireland was heavily forested, with forest cover estimated at up to 80%. Today the landscape is markedly different. According to the National Land Cover Map 2018, Ireland comprises approximately 54% grassland, swamp and saltmarsh, 12% forest, woodland and scrub, 6.5% peatland, 6.5% heath and bracken, 6% cultivated land, almost 4% artificial surfaces and under 3% water bodies.

Native woodland declined from between 45% and 80% of land cover around 6,000 years ago to about 1% by the late 1800s, a historic reduction well in excess of 70%, despite increased forest cover through 20th century planting, much of it non-native conifer.

Peatlands have also been extensively degraded, with approximately 47% affected by extraction and drainage. They remain major long term carbon stores, holding about 1,085 million tonnes of carbon.

Land Use Reform and Subsidy Realignment.

A clear case exists for Ireland to expand carefully targeted rewilding initiatives. Much of our agricultural sector remains economically marginal and heavily supported through the EU Common Agricultural Policy. Redirecting a modest proportion of CAP funding towards rewilding selected and appropriate areas would represent a strategic land use adjustment rather than a radical shift. Such a transition would require rigorous planning, professional management and long term ecological monitoring.

Evidence from Knepp in Sussex and Dunsany in Co Meath demonstrates that low intervention systems can deliver measurable biodiversity gains. However, across much of Ireland, active oversight would be essential to prevent invasive species dominance, scrub imbalance and unmanaged grazing pressure.

If properly implemented, rewilding could support the recovery of species such as the white tailed eagle, corncrake and curlew, alongside increases in pine martens, stoats, badgers and native woodland. Electrification alone will not resolve biodiversity decline, which is fundamentally driven by land use change and habitat degradation.

Ireland’s ecological decline is measurable, historic and ongoing. Rewilding is not a romantic concept but a practical land use strategy grounded in evidence from Ireland and Knepp in Sussex. With strategic planning, targeted subsidy reform and professional ecological management, Ireland has the capacity to restore biodiversity, strengthen carbon storage and improve landscape resilience. The choice is not between farming and nature, but between continued degradation and structured ecological recovery. The DAFM have already started great work through the ACRES scheme, and this could be increased and extended to all landowners.

Here, an opportunity exists for Ireland to lead the way.