130925-studie-wildlife-comeback-in-europe

96 year old olive
farmer with his
donkey at Castelo
Rodrigo, Portugal.
Neither his children
nor grandchildren are
taking over the farm
from him.
medieval times [20] , while Roe deer (Capreolus
capreolus) populations were at their lowest point
in the early 20 th century [21] .
Despite these documented historic and current
declines, there is evidence of recent population
increases and range expansion for a number of
European species (see species accounts in section
3 and 4 of this report). This apparent trend across
Europe provides us with an opportunity to identify
species traits, environmental factors and conservation
interventions which have contributed to
population increases or range expansions, and
attempt to apply the same techniques to other
species which are likely to respond in a similar
manner. Furthermore, it may be possible to understand
the extent to which underlying drivers, such
as human demographics and policy, contribute to
wildlife comeback. For example, since the early
1960s, there has been a 28% decline in the rural
population in Europe, a trend that is expected to
continue and accelerate into the future and which
is particularly pronounced in Eastern Europe (41%
decline in rural population since 1961 [13] ). In Eastern
and Central European countries, drivers such
as the European Union’s Common Agricultural
Policy (CAP) and its effect on agricultural intensification
will most likely lead to more intensive use
of productive areas and the abandonment of less
productive and economically less viable areas [22] .
Already we see an increase in urban populations,
which is projected to continue across Europe by
16% between 2002 and 2045 [13] . Consequently,
although increasing urbanisation has led to a larger
disconnect between people and the natural world
globally [23] , it has also allowed wildlife comeback
in areas of rural abandonment, particularly where
coupled with legal protection and active reintroduction
of species.
This report focuses on those species for which
we see positive changes in Europe. For many
of these, Europe now hosts larger populations
than for centuries. In this report, we focus on the
following questions:
• Which European species are showing
comeback?
• By how much have populations increased and
ranges expanded since the mid-20 th century?
• How does wildlife comeback relate to historical
distributions and population sizes?
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