‘Wilderness’ is an area which has been largely undisturbed by human activity. It most often refers to ecosystems on land – like forests – but can also be used to describe marine life in the world’s oceans.

Protecting wilderness is an important part of modern conservation, as these areas provide ecologically rich environments for many of the Earth’s plant and animal species to live and thrive in. In addition to supporting ecosystems to flourish, intact wilderness areas can help mitigate the climate emergency by absorbing greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere.

Despite their benefits, wilderness areas are increasingly under threat. As of 2022, less than 25% of the Earth’s land and just 13% of the ocean remain wild, and this area is rapidly diminishing as human activity continues to grow and intensify. New roads built for logging, mining, and agriculture have shrunk forests by 12% from 2000 to 2022 – an area twice the size of Chile.

Legal protections on wild areas and cooperation between countries to require and design protective laws can help improve wilderness protection. The Convention on Biological Diversity, a treaty between countries that aims to protect land and marine ecosystems, is a global starting point. Providing training and support for local people to steward, maintain and protect ecosystems or find jobs in other sectors can help them find alternative livelihoods to logging and mining.

Lobbying from powerful businesses, industry representatives and financial investors to deregulate protected wilderness areas is common, hindering these efforts.

Add 1 Ecological Resilience token to your player board.
You may take this action once per Ecology tag in this card's stack per round.

• Wilderness (Wikipedia) 

• The World’s Largest Intact Forests are Becoming Increasingly Fragmented (World Resources Institute, WRI)

• Why the Ocean needs wilderness (Smithsonian Magazine)

• Support the WILD Foundation, an organization dedicated to preserving wilderness areas around the world.

• Consider buying sustainably sourced goods which do not damage wilderness areas, especially when shopping for wood and food products.

• Advocate for increased legal protections of wilderness in your country and community.