Two national parks in Belgium and Montenegro, and a nature park in Croatia, have joined the European Rewilding Network. Connecting with a growing community of rewilding practitioners and accessing a range of practical tools and expertise will help them amplify their nature recovery efforts.
Advancing rewilding across Europe’s protected areas
Europe’s protected areas play a critical role in safeguarding nature, yet many have been affected by centuries of ecological degradation and are still missing key natural processes and wildlife species. Across the continent, a growing number of national parks and other protected areas are embracing rewilding as a way of restoring the way ecosystems work, strengthening biodiversity, and enhancing the benefits that wild nature delivers for local communities and society at large.
Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse National Park in Belgium, Lake Skadar National Park in Montenegro, and Lonjsko Polje Nature Park in Croatia have recently joined Rewilding Europe’s European Rewilding Network. Bringing together more than 100 rewilding initiatives across Europe, the network enables members to exchange knowledge and experience, access practical tools, participate in training and capacity-building opportunities, and collaborate with a growing community of practitioners. For these three protected areas, membership will help accelerate their rewilding ambitions and support their long-term vision of becoming wilder parks.
Rewilding rivers, forests and grasslands in Belgium
Covering 22,000 hectares in southern Belgium, Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse National Park is one of the first two national parks established in Wallonia. Spanning the Fagne, Calestienne, and Ardenne regions, it encompasses a rich variety of landscapes, including wetlands, calcareous grasslands, forests and river valleys. The park is home to a variety of wildlife species, such as wolves, beavers, black storks, white-tailed eagles, Eurasian eagle owls, wildcats, and red deer.
Since its designation in 2023, Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse National Park has already taken important steps towards its rewilding vision. Efforts include expanding strictly protected forest areas, restoring river and floodplain dynamics, improving human-wildlife coexistence, and restoring natural grazing. Looking ahead, the park aims to further restore natural processes across its woodlands, watersheds and meadows, while supporting nature-based tourism and local development.
“Joining the European Rewilding Network is a very exciting opportunity for us,” says park director Johanna Breyne. “We are ambitious about restoring natural processes and creating a landscape where people and nature thrive together. Being part of this community will allow us to learn from others, share our own experiences, and strengthen our efforts to create a wilder future for the region.”
A wilder future for the largest Balkan lake
Lake Skadar National Park, which was founded in 1983 and covers around 40,000 hectares in Montenegro, protects the largest lake in the Balkans and one of the region’s most important wetland ecosystems. Around 80% of the park consists of freshwater habitats, wetlands and rivers, supporting rich fish communities, as well as species such as Dalmatian pelicans, otters, and golden jackals. The park also forms part of a transboundary landscape shared with neighbouring Albania.
While the park already retains a strong sense of wildness, its management team sees significant opportunities to enhance ecological integrity through rewilding. Priorities include strengthening food webs, reducing illegal harvesting of wildlife, exploring the return of the critically endangered Adriatic sturgeon, tackling invasive species, and restoring natural grazing processes. Rewilding will also help support the development of wildlife-watching tourism and other nature-based economic opportunities for local communities around the lake.
Lake Skadar National Park is the first European Rewilding Network member from Montenegro, taking the total number of countries represented across the continent to 32.
Restoring Europe’s great floodplain landscapes
Located along the Sava River in central Croatia, Lonjsko Polje Nature Park protects more than 50,000 hectares of floodplain landscapes, alluvial forests, wetlands, traditional grazing lands and villages. The park is recognised as one of Europe’s best-preserved natural floodplains and supports exceptional biodiversity, including white-tailed eagles, black storks, spoonbills, beavers, otters, red deer, and roe deer.
The park’s rewilding vision is focused on restoring and strengthening natural processes that have shaped the landscape for centuries. Planned actions include improving the natural flow of water by reconnecting rivers and oxbows, expanding areas of strictly protected forest, promoting natural grazing, reducing the impact of invasive species, and creating additional space for wildlife. By working closely with local communities, the park aims to demonstrate how rewilding can complement traditional land use while delivering benefits for both nature and people.
Leading the way towards wilder protected areas
All three parks are also among the 10 frontrunner participants in Rewilding Europe’s Wilder Parks initiative, which launched in late 2025 and supports protected areas in placing natural processes at the heart of nature restoration and sustainable landscapes. Through rewilding, Wilder Parks can move towards a future where processes such as the free flow of water, natural grazing, and wildlife-driven ecosystem dynamics play a greater role in shaping landscapes.
Combined with the support, expertise, and collaborative opportunities offered by the European Rewilding Network, the Wilder Parks initiative provides a practical pathway for scaling up nature recovery across Europe’s protected areas. As Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse, Lake Skadar, and Lonjsko Polje continue their rewilding journeys, they are demonstrating how parks can become powerful showcases for nature recovery and the wide-ranging benefits it delivers for wildlife, ecosystems, and local communities, helping to build a future where people and nature can thrive side by side.
Let’s rewild together
Rewilding Europe extends a warm welcome to all European rewilding initiatives that focus on practical, results-oriented rewilding and encourages them to apply for European Rewilding Network membership.
