The war in Ukraine is taking a terrible toll on people and nature. Yet despite facing many challenges, the resilient Rewilding Ukraine team continue to see their efforts bear fruit.

The EU has just published its proposal for legally binding nature restoration targets. We now have a huge opportunity to recover European nature, with rewilding playing a leading role.

Large mammals (megafauna) have crucial roles in ecosystems. Megafauna restoration is therefore a key element of rewilding. A new study finds that restoring Europe’s megafauna as much as possible is in fact a legal (and moral) obligation.

The removal of dams has proven to be the most environmentally efficient and cost-effective way of restoring rivers, bringing wide-ranging benefits to both people and wild nature. Dam Removal Europe’s latest progress report shows an increase of 137% of barriers removed compared to the previous year, confirming the growing movement and interest in restoring rivers in Europe.

Animals influence the carbon cycle in myriad ways. By enabling wildlife populations to recover in both number and diversity, rewilding could significantly reduce atmospheric carbon and move us beyond net zero.

On the constant lookout for environmental crime and damaging wildfire, Rewilding Portugal’s surveillance team travel thousands of kilometres every year to protect wolves and other wildlife south of the Douro River.

Rewilding Europe co-founder Wouter Helmer retired at the end of 2021. Over the last decade, his instrumental involvement with the initiative has given him pride, happy memories, and hope for the future.

The last 10 years have seen the European rewilding movement go from strength to strength. Europe’s policy space has become increasingly supportive of rewilding over this timeframe.

Rewilding Europe is working to accelerate the restoration of nature at landscape scale. Europe’s protected areas could play a pivotal role in the process.

The first major deal from the COP 26 climate summit has seen more than 100 world leaders agree to halt deforestation by 2030. We must now prioritise the natural regeneration of the forests we have left, rather than simply planting more trees.