The paper highlights the urgency of addressing planetary shifts, enduring injustices, and equity issues in conservation efforts. It argues that traditional conservation models, often state-led and excluding Indigenous communities, are insufficient. The authors propose community-conserved areas (ICCAs) as a solution and focus on two Finnish and Sámi rewilding cases to investigate how equitable conservation can be achieved and how new pathways for navigating complex environmental and social problems can be forged. The research utilizes Ostrom's concept of the 'action arena' to analyze how local communities participate in decisions about their land and resources.

The introduction extensively reviews relevant literature. It cites works on ecosystem change (Bonebrake et al., 2017; Pecl et al., 2017), planetary atmospheric systems (IPCC, 2022), and historical injustices in conservation (Crosby, 1986; Harvey, 1996; Rechtschaffen and Gauna, 2003; Schlosberg, 2007; Kelleher, 2018). The authors draw on Alexievich (2006) and Soudakova (2020) to emphasize the importance of understanding past injustices to achieve equitable solutions. The work of Ostrom (2009) and McGinnis and Ostrom (2014) is used to frame the importance of understanding stakeholder perspectives and local knowledge in conservation.

The study uses a historical and geographical case study approach focusing on two sites: Salojenneva, a Finnish peatland, and Vainosjoki, a Sámi river. Both sites were previously impacted by state-led extractive activities (peat mining and river dredging, respectively) and subsequently restored through community-led rewilding initiatives. The authors draw on existing materials in local languages, including reports from the Landscape Rewilding Programme and other relevant studies. They analyze the historical context of land use and governance in both areas, examining the impacts of state intervention on local communities and traditional practices. The concept of ICCAs (Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas) serves as a theoretical framework for understanding equitable conservation, using the ICCA Consortium's typology to analyze the cases. The methodology involves documenting the actions taken by local communities, acknowledging historical injustices, and exploring how to foster new symbiotic relationships between people and nature in restored landscapes.

The Salojenneva case study reveals how a community-led effort transformed a former peat mining site into a thriving wetland bird sanctuary. The restoration addressed water pollution and carbon sequestration concerns, benefiting the local community through improved water quality, recreational opportunities, and the return of hunting rights. The Vainosjoki case demonstrates how the Skolt Sámi community restored a river damaged by timber floating, successfully reviving fish populations and enhancing food security and cultural practices. Both cases highlight the importance of local knowledge, agency, and memory in successful rewilding projects. The authors found that state agencies accepted the community-led restoration efforts, marking a significant step toward recognizing the importance of stakeholder approaches. The study demonstrates that both sites are functioning as ICCAs despite not yet being officially registered. The restoration efforts show significant ecological recovery (return of bird species in Salojenneva and fish species in Vainosjoki) which is linked to the socio-cultural well-being of the communities.

The findings address the research question by demonstrating how community-led rewilding projects can achieve equitable conservation outcomes. The success of the projects underscores the importance of recognizing local knowledge, agency, and historical injustices. The authors discuss the significance of the results in the context of broader discussions about environmental justice, Indigenous rights, and the need for innovative approaches to conservation in a time of rapid environmental change. The discussion explores the concept of 'novel ecosystems' resulting from restoration efforts, and the ethical considerations of biomanipulation in rewilding projects. It also considers the complex cultural and social dimensions of these restored areas, posing questions about identity, coexistence, and redress for past harms.

The paper concludes that community-led rewilding can serve as a vehicle for achieving both ecological restoration and social justice. The Finnish *erämaa* and Sámi *siida* models of traditional land use offer frameworks for community rights and equitable conservation. The authors suggest that recognizing Indigenous and community-conserved areas (ICCAs) is crucial for achieving international conservation goals. The study emphasizes the importance of integrating local knowledge and practices into conservation efforts, fostering a new symbiotic relationship between people and their environment. Future research could explore other examples of community-led rewilding projects and investigate the long-term social and ecological impacts of these initiatives.

The study is limited to two case studies in Finland, which may not be fully generalizable to other contexts. Further research is needed to explore the scalability and transferability of these approaches to different geographical and socio-cultural settings. The authors acknowledge that the concepts of 'erämaa' and 'siida' may not fully translate into global conservation discourse.