Biodiversity and Wilderness Management

Abstract

The paper discusses the concept of wilderness as a strategy for protecting biodiversity and as one of the key goals in environmental policy.It discusses the dimensions and consequences of the strategies of rewildering stretching from large land abandonments down to urbanwasteland. The paper analyses the consequences and effects of land use abandonment and management strategies towards more naturalnessand wilderness. A second focus is also laid on the social dimension of wilderness, the attempts of defining wilderness by spatial extentsor features as well as its perception by laypersons. It is pointed out that wilderness has a strong mental component related with feelings likesolitude and nature experiences.