Wildcard: The Forest Game - A scientific adventure across Europe's hidden forests  Podcast Por Wildcard arte de portada

Wildcard: The Forest Game - A scientific adventure across Europe's hidden forests 

Wildcard: The Forest Game - A scientific adventure across Europe's hidden forests 

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What if rewilding Europe were a strategic board game where every forest hides a secret, and every move shapes the future of our ecosystems?  Welcome to an extraordinary audio journey that transforms the complex world of ecological restoration into an immersive, continent-spanning adventure.  Guided by expert researchers and scientists, the podcast dives into the investigative work of identifying true wilderness, explores the delicate balance between conservation and human needs, and highlights innovative strategies that restore ecosystems to their full complexity. Wildcard
Episodios
  • Ep 4: The Brussels wildcard: Europe's new rules for restoration
    Jun 20 2025

    In 2024, the European Union approved the Nature Restoration Regulation - a comprehensive framework requiring restoration measures on twenty per cent of EU land and sea. But what does restoration actually mean in practice?

    Jutta Paulus, Member of the European Parliament, who followed the entire legislative process, dispels some misconceptions: restoration isn't about creating wilderness everywhere. It's about transforming monoculture crops back into flower-rich meadows, converting single-species tree plantations into resilient mixed forests, and demonstrating that sustainable use can be more productive than intensive exploitation.

    This episode explores how policy translates into practice through one of Europe's most successful rewilding stories. In the Netherlands' Gelderse Poort, Wouter Helmer shows how a strategic partnership with clay mining companies transformed polluted farmland into a thriving ecosystem that welcomes 1.5 million visitors annually and generates 25 million euros for the local economy, while providing effective flood protection.

    The challenge now lies in implementation: how do you turn a Brussels regulation into thriving ecosystems across diverse European landscapes? And how do you ensure that European restoration doesn't simply shift environmental pressures to other parts of the world?


    Credits

    «WILDCARD. The Forest Game» is a podcast production written by Silvia Giralucci for the WILDCARD project and Starter.

    Scientific Supervisor: Giorgio Alberti, University of Udine

    Editorial Supervisor: Gesche Schifferdecker, European Forest Institute

    Voice-over: Rahel Könen, European Forest Institute

    Post-production: Santiago Alarcón, European Forest Institute


    Learn more about the WILDCARD project:

    ⁠www.wildcard-project.eu ⁠

    European Forest Institute: ⁠www.efi.int ⁠

    Follow us also on LinkedIn: ⁠WILDCARD project

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    19 m
  • Ep 3: Deep Roots: Romania’s Forests and the Struggle for Proforestation
    Jun 20 2025

    Proforestation - the strategy of allowing existing forests to grow naturally without human harvesting or management - sounds simple in theory. Let trees grow, store carbon, and protect biodiversity. But what happens when this ecological ideal crashes into human reality?

    In Romania's Făgăraș Mountains, Mihai Zotta from Foundation Conservation Carpathia discovered that buying forest land was just the beginning of a much more complex challenge. How do you convince communities who have depended on forests for firewood, construction materials, and livelihoods for centuries to suddenly step back and let nature take its course?

    This episode explores the multifaceted social constraints that make proforestation one of conservation's most challenging strategies. From economic pressures in rural communities where young people are fleeing to cities, to cultural traditions that see forest management as stewardship, we uncover why protecting forests often means protecting people first.

    Through innovative food hubs, educational centres, and careful negotiation between conservation goals and community needs, we discover how successful proforestation requires more than scientific knowledge - it demands social innovation, economic creativity, and the delicate art of finding common ground.

    Credits

    «WILDCARD. The Forest Game» is a podcast production written by Silvia Giralucci for the WILDCARD project and Starter.

    Scientific Supervisor: Giorgio Alberti, University of Udine

    Editorial Supervisor: Gesche Schifferdecker, European Forest Institute

    Voice-over: Rahel Könen, European Forest Institute

    Post-production: Santiago Alarcón, European Forest Institute


    Learn more about the WILDCARD project: ⁠www.wildcard-project.eu ⁠

    European Forest Institute:⁠ www.efi.int ⁠

    Follow us also on LinkedIn:⁠ WILDCARD project

    Más Menos
    17 m
  • Ep 2: The Swamp's Secrets
    Jun 20 2025

    Deep in Switzerland's Seeliwald Reserve, carnivorous plants digest insects to survive in nutrient-poor swamps, while ancient trees accumulate carbon undisturbed for over half a century. This is proforestation in action - not planting new forests, but allowing existing ones to grow wild and free.

    Professor Harald Bugmann from ETH Zurich has been studying one of Europe's most fascinating ecological experiments: what happens when humans completely step back from forest management? The results are surprising. While these unmanaged forests store up to 200 tonnes of carbon per hectare and host extraordinary biodiversity, scaling up this approach across Europe faces unexpected challenges.

    From Swiss Alpine protection forests that guard villages from avalanches, to the economic realities facing forest owners, this episode reveals why the future of European forests requires a delicate balance between human needs and nature's autonomy.

    Credits

    «WILDCARD. The Forest Game» is a podcast production written by Silvia Giralucci for the WILDCARD project and Starter.

    Scientific Supervisor: Giorgio Alberti, University of Udine

    Editorial Supervisor: Gesche Schifferdecker, European Forest Institute

    Voice-over: Rahel Könen, European Forest Institute

    Post-production: Santiago Alarcón, European Forest Institute

    Learn more about the WILDCARD project:

    ⁠www.wildcard-project.eu ⁠

    European Forest Institute: ⁠www.efi.int ⁠

    Follow us also on LinkedIn: ⁠WILDCARD project

    Más Menos
    13 m
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