Best of 2025 … so far: the great abandonment: what happens to the natural world when people disappear?
The Audio Long Read
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Nature's Resilience: The Impact of Human Absence
This chapter examines land abandonment and its ecological ramifications, highlighting how nature can reclaim urban areas when human activity ceases. It reflects on the revitalization of wildlife during the 2020 lockdown and discusses historic ecological theories, challenging the assumption that humans are always detrimental to biodiversity. Through the lens of abandoned regions and unique ecological interactions, the chapter advocates for a reevaluation of the human-nature relationship to promote coexistence.
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