Rewilding Futures: Shaping Tomorrow's Wild

This workshop explores the unique challenges and opportunities of rewilding in the Global South, where livelihoods often depend directly on natural resources, and governance systems may be less formalised. Drawing on a pilot Payment for Ecosystem Services project in Eastern Rwanda by The Lifescape Project and Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association, we’ll examine how finance from global nature markets can restore ecosystems while improving local land access and nature-based revenue opportunities. Through interactive discussions, we’ll address key questions, including: • How can rewilding principles be applied to diverse Global South contexts (through, for example, understanding neo-colonial dynamics and risks) • How can nature finance deliver equitable benefits and avoid reinforcing power and wealth imbalances? • How can we ensure rewilding efforts are genuinely participatory, sensitive to local cultures, and improve livelihoods? In an interactive workshop format, participants will be invited to critique and provide feedback on various nature-finance approaches to participatory governance, land access equity, and socially responsible project design.