1. Home
  2. Who we are
  3. Sustainability
  4. Nature
  5. Net positive biodiversity impact

Ørsted and ARK Nature to pioneer marine rewilding

Combining urgent efforts on climate and biodiversity

17.05.2022

Our new partnership with ARK Nature will pioneer testing the potential of rewilding principles to restore vital ocean biodiversity as we speed up the global transition to renewable energy.

Copyright (North Sea) under water footage: Dutch Maritime Productions B.V.

As the global leader in offshore wind and the world’s most sustainable energy company, we have an ambition to deliver renewable energy that has a net positive biodiversity impact. ARK Nature is one of the founding partners of Rewilding Europe and a pioneer of the rewilding approach to nature restoration, which has already proven effective on land. Together, Ark and Ørsted are combining this expertise to realise a shared ambition to support and nurture healthy oceans that can sustain diverse ecosystems and a healthy society.


Rasmus Errboe, Head of Region Continental Europe at Ørsted

"

When it comes to tackling the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, there’s a real need for speed. We need urgent action – but that speed must not come at the expense of nature, and Ørsted believes it doesn’t have to. With this new collaboration I am excited to add to our existing, ambitious global biodiversity programme. Together with ARK, Ørsted will implement innovative new restoration projects and study how rewilding can contribute to improving the health of our oceans, as well as how the offshore wind sector can enhance that contribution.”

Rasmus Errboe, Head of Region Continental Europe at Ørsted

Rewilding: what is it and why take it to the sea?


Rewilding involves taking an ecosystem-wide view and creating conditions in which nature can recover and thrive on its own, over the long-term. The approach has never before been trialled at scale in the marine environment, where the challenge is particularly acute, but where ARK and Ørsted believe there is huge potential benefit from application of rewilding principles.

Ark and Ørsted have a bold, shared vision: as the offshore wind needed to tackle the climate challenge takes up more marine space, we must work in collaboration to leave nature in better shape than we found it.

The partnership will start in the North Sea, by setting up a Marine FieldLab for rewilding. Our first step is to find the most suitable location on ecological grounds, and from there we will develop and implement a variety of promising rewilding measures over several years. One initial focus is on shellfish reefs, which act as the foundation of the marine ecosystem by providing food and breeding grounds for other species. Currently there are very few places remaining in the North Sea where shellfish larvae can attach and create new reefs. Our partnership will test and develop the best ways for wind farms to provide this and support biodiversity.

Importantly, the impacts of all measures we take will be closely studied, and what we learn will be used as we refine and develop ways to scale up positive biodiversity impact across the world, at the same time as demand on marine space for human activity is growing.

 

Related reads in Nature