Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to explore how rewilding has emerged as a new alternative to
classic nature conservation to reconcile humans with wild nature. The study will explore what
are the compromises required for rewilding in a Swedish context. It will focus on the
expectations and the processes leading to the rewilding projects and how human expectations
for landscapes, animals and nature have to compromise. Most of our modern landscapes
being tamed and domesticated, they correspond more to an idea of beautiful, in opposition
with the sublime which can designate the wilderness, which is, in Kant’s terms, untamed,
wild, and sometimes ugly and terrifying. If Kant considers that the only way for humans to
enjoy this sublime nature is pure disinterest, we will look at how rewilding can be a way to
restore autonomy and ecological integrity to ecosystems while offering to humans an
experience of the sublime nature and letting them benefit from it. This paper will look at
Rewilding Lapland as a case study, it proposes to rewild a large area in Northern Sweden by
supporting some keystone species like the beaver and restoring key areas of the landscape like
rivers and grazing lands. The stated aim of this Rewilding Lapland is to develop a naturebased
economy where entrepreneurship and economical activities are combined with nature
conservation. Thus, public awareness, local communities approval and nature-based
economies around rewilding will be studied as compromises between nature and people.