Species Recovery

Species Recovery is a broad term which can mean different things to different people. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, a species is fully recovered if it is present in all parts of its range (even those that are no longer occupied but were occupied prior to major human impacts/disruption) and is performing all its ecological functions across that range.

In simple terms, it essentially involves identifying which species have been lost or are on the brink of being lost from a given region and putting in place the appropriate management to restore populations to healthy and sustainable levels, be it sensitive habitat improvement work or total reintroduction through captive breeding or translocation if necessary.

Sussex Wildlife Trust fully supports the restoration of keystone species such as Eurasian Beaver to areas which they once inhabited, and which can kickstart natural processes on a landscape scale. 

For more information, please contact Chryssa Brown at Sussex Wildlife Trust ([email protected]).

Support our Species Recovery Fund appeal

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In this section

Beavers in Sussex

In 2020, the Knepp Estate had a licence approved by Defra to introduce Beavers into an area of the Knepp Estate in West Sussex. The National Trust also had approval to bring back to land on the edge of the South Downs

South East Pine Marten Restoration Project

Kent Wildlife Trust and Wildwood Trust, in collaboration with Sussex Wildlife Trust, are assessing the possibility of restoring Pine Martens to the South East of England.

Chough

Choughs are a rare, charismatic crow species whose identity is steeped in legend dating back to the death of Thomas Beckett some 850 years ago. Due to habitat loss and historical persecution, Choughs have been missing from many areas of the UK for centuries.

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