Speaker
Description
Rewilding has emerged as a prominent strategy for ecological restoration in Europe, yet public support remains uneven and shaped by political values. As debates surrounding the Nature Restoration Law intensify, understanding how political identity influences support for rewilding is increasingly vital. We present findings from a discrete choice experiment (DCE) conducted in the Oder Delta, a transboundary landscape spanning Germany and Poland, to investigate how political affiliation affects willingness to pay (WTP) for rewilding interventions.
Our results, based on over 2,000 representative respondents, reveal that while rewilding garners support across the political spectrum, both the probability of supporting interventions and the magnitude of WTP vary systematically with party affiliation. In both countries, supporters of left-leaning and pro-EU parties exhibit significantly higher WTP for rewilding landscapes and restoring ecological connectivity. Interestingly, support for the reintroduction of large animals—including bison and wolves—remains relatively strong across ideological divides, suggesting certain rewilding elements transcend partisan boundaries.
Voting preference explains a greater share of preference heterogeneity than traditional socio-demographic variables, such as age or education. However, geographic proximity also plays a key role, especially in Germany, highlighting the importance of local context. Notably, voters of economically conservative parties in Germany and Eurosceptic parties in Poland were more likely to reject rewilding scenarios, often selecting the status quo alternative.
These findings highlight the politicized nature of rewilding support and underscore the need for politically nuanced, socially inclusive policy design. As rewilding becomes more embedded in European policy, navigating ideological fault lines will be crucial to implementation success. Our study demonstrates the value of combining ecological ambition with political awareness in fostering public support for large-scale nature recovery.
| Status Group | Postdoctoral Researcher |
|---|---|
| Poster Presentation Option | Yes, I’m willing to present as a poster. |
