Defensive Rewilding - A Nature-Based Solution For National Security
The bogs of war - landscapes play a huge part in conflict – and restoring them can strengthen security
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https://doi.org/10.1080/03071847.2026.2646067 <-- shared paper
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https://theconversation.com/the-bogs-of-war-landscapes-play-a-huge-part-in-conflict-and-restoring-them-can-strengthen-security-280790 <-- shared technical media article
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H/T @Sean Jarrett MSc
[total admiration for the word play in the title]
“[The H/T] never knew there was a security aspect to the importance of nature restoration; [this is an] interesting article on how wet, boggy ground and sinuous river courses can play their part in the defence of Europe..”
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“As geopolitical tensions rise and climate-related risks intensify, Europe is rethinking how it handles security on multiple fronts. One idea being developed relates to how nature and restoring landscapes can play a role in strengthening national resilience.
[Their] recent study [link above] explores how restoring biodiversity, such as wetlands and forests, can even complement military defence strategies. And he EU’s commissioner for the environment, Jessika Roswall, has said that rewilding border regions could make terrain harder for invading forces to cross.
Finland and Poland are already restoring wetlands, forests and other natural systems, delivering vital carbon storage and biodiversity recovery. But these moves could also, in a combat situation, slow, channel or deter advancing forces.
Restoring nature can alter the geography of politically sensitive areas. Some rewilding – such as the restoration of wetlands which creates soft ground – makes terrain trickier for mechanised forces such as tanks or supporting ammunition trucks to navigate.
There are precedents. In 1941, the Pripet Marshes of southern Belarus played a key role in Operation Barbarossa, Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union, which involved some 3 million soldiers. This vast wetland, since partially drained, acted as a geographic wedge that split the German frontline and created a huge gap in the advance. The winter weather made the landscape difficult to navigate. Forested areas surrounding Moscow further slowed the advance, allowing Russia to regroup and resist.
In 2022, during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the intentional flooding of the Irpin river’s floodplain created an impassable swampy ground that trapped Russian mechanised invaders on a few elevated road embankments north of Kyiv. This made them easy targets for light anti-tank teams, and proved critical in the defence of Ukraine’s capital.
Historically, a similar strategy was employed in 1914, when Belgian forces opened the sluice gates at Nieuwpoort to halt the German “race to the sea”…”
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“[The authors] state the case for ‘defensive rewilding’ as a strategic land-use concept that merges large-scale ecosystem restoration with military defensive advantages. This dual approach strategically locates rewilding projects to create natural barriers that impede, delay or channel invading forces. At the same time, such projects deliver critical ecosystem services including flood control, carbon sequestration and biodiversity enhancement. The approach integrates ecology and security theory, offering a novel framework for national security and climate resilience…”
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This is an unusual angle, but it makes a practical point. Wetlands can protect a country in more than one way. Do you think linking rewilding to security helps conservation, or does it risk bending conservation toward military goals?