The award-winning creator of nature documentaries writes about the places that nature lovers yearn for – and introduces us to a key concept in nature conservation.

WILDNIS
by Jan Haft
Penguin Germany, March 2023

When we think of wilderness, we think of places like forests filled with an abundance of wild plants – landscapes that show no trace of human civilisation. After all, man and primordial nature are mutually exclusive. In fact, though, wilderness always implies a certain tug of war between different forces: wherever we disturb the balance, nature cannot take its course, and what remains isn’t wilderness, but an impoverished landscape – even if we leave nature to its own devices. Even now, the forests we once exploited contain just a fraction of the animals, plants and fungi that once existed there. Why is that? Biologist and filmmaker Haft examines flawed ideas, proposes a new way of conceiving of wilderness, and explains how – if we wanted to – we could easily and cheaply create new animal-friendly, sustainable and diverse landscapes.

Biologist Jan Haft, born in 1967, is a nature and animal filmmaker with a host of awards to his name. He lives with his wife and three children on a farm near Munich. His first book, The Meadow, appeared in 2019 alongside his feature film The Meadow – A Paradise Next Door; both were a great success.