Deploying human and non-human ecosystem engineers to rebuild nature for people

Protecting and rebuilding nature can deal with 30% of historic carbon dioxide emissions and prevent ecosystem collapse that will otherwise imperil human society. Our collective climate resilience can be increased by restoring bigger, more dynamic ecosystems. Traditional conservation approaches cannot do this. Human and non-human ‘ecosystem engineers’ need to work alongside one another to ensure that keystone species can range across our landscapes (‘re-animating’ them) to increase their long-term carbon dioxide lock-up value, maximise their ongoing biodiversity value and concurrently increase the other ecosystem services that they provide and on which people ultimately depend. However, ecosystem engineer species such as large herbivores cannot move across landscapes that have been severed by infrastructure many other species need to be enables to move as the climate warms. This implies the need for a strategic nature network, linking ecosystems under restoration by way of physical crossings that overcome barriers such as roads. Human engineers can play a leading role in enabling all these key elements of rebuilding nature – from working on individual structures and projects, to applying nature-positive systems-thinking in their day-to-day jobs and advocating for ambitious nature recovery. We can all help engineer a more nature-positive future. We need to all become ecosystem engineers.