Wilderness – Consequences of a mental construct for landscapes, biodiversity and wilderness management

The paper discusses the concept of wilderness as a strategy for protecting biodiversity and as one of the key goals in environmental policy. It discusses the dimensions and consequences of the strategies of rewildering stretching from large land abandonments down to urban wasteland. The paper analyses the consequences and effects of land use abandonment and management strategies towards more naturalness and wilderness. A second focus is also laid on the social dimension of wilderness, the attempts of defining wilderness by spatial extents or features as well as its perception by laypersons. It is pointed out that wilderness has a strong mental component related with feelings like solitude and nature experiences.