Nature is our best ally in mitigating the scale and impact of climate change. Read the feature story ‘A Climate of Change’ in our new Annual Review 2018 to find out how rewilding contributes by creating healthier, better-connected, more resilient ecosystems. The article is one of the 10 feature stories in the review showcasing the progress Rewilding Europe made last year.

So far 72 griffon vulture chicks have hatched in the Rhodope Mountains rewilding area this year – seven more than in 2018. A milestone success for the local rewilding team, this record-breaking result represents another positive step forward in the Balkan-based comeback of these magnificent birds.

Rewilding Europe completed its first ever translocation of water buffalo last week, with a herd of seven animals successfully released on Ermakov Island in the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta. The hefty herbivores will create and maintain a mosaic landscape on the island – thereby supporting the area’s dynamic, wild nature – as well as driving development of local nature-based tourism.

Chrysoula, a juvenile black vulture fitted with a GPS transmitter, recently made a 3200-kilometre, 17-day journey over the Balkans. Her incredible aerial circuit gives the Rhodope Mountains rewilding team new insight into vulture behaviour and will help ongoing vulture conservation efforts in the area.

Filmed by French production company Bonne Pioche and broadcast on Franco-German TV network ARTE, the documentary provides a comprehensive overview of European rewilding, with extensive coverage of Rewilding Europe’s work.

In the current issue of leading journal Science, an international team of researchers calls for a shift toward the dynamic, process-led restoration where nature takes much more care of itself. They present a science-based framework for rewilding as an effective way of helping degraded ecosystems regenerate and sustain themselves.

The removal of the Sindi Dam and other barriers along Estonia’s Pärnu River will mean more than 3000 kilometres of waterway can flow unrestricted once again. By allowing salmon and other fish species to migrate naturally, this will breathe new life into the river basin and local economies. Estonia’s pioneering efforts will be showcased during a Dam Removal Europe seminar on May 22 and 23, 2019.

When it comes to changing people’s ways of thinking, building public support, creating positive attitudes and engaging with stakeholders, powerful communications is essential. During the latest webinar of the European Rewilding Network (ERN) two members gave insightful presentations on communications best practice.

Representing the first ever translocation of Konik horses into the Danube Delta, the shipment of 23 animals travelled by road from Latvia to the Ukrainian village of Orlovka. By helping to create and maintain mosaic landscapes, their grazing will help to boost biodiversity in the Danube Delta rewilding area.

The number of griffon vulture pairs in the Rhodope Mountains rewilding area in Bulgaria has now reached 95, paying testament to the efforts of the local rewilding team and partners. With the number of griffons in the Bulgarian and Greek sections of the Rhodope Mountains now totalling over 100 pairs, this magnificent yet locally endangered species continues its gradual reestablishment in the Balkans.