On September 10, Rewilding Europe took off with the Bison Rewilding Action Plan, an important step for the restoration of bison in Europe.

We continue to make steady progress as we seek to develop businesses which will support our rewilding objectives. We’re working both to identify and support existing businesses which are relevant to our rewilding areas – and also to design some new businesses where we feel there is an opportunity to create something different and complementary.

One of the programme goals of Rewilding Europe is “by 2020, rewild 1 million ha (10,000 km²) across 10 places in Europe covering different regions and biomes, including areas of both land and sea”. The rewilding concept was introduced at the “EC Presidency Conference on Wilderness and Large Natural Habitat Areas” in May 2009, and the participants were invited to submit nominations for potential model areas.

From the start in October 2011, serious efforts were made to influence the reform of the Nature and Landscape Protection Act in Slovakia, which could radically improve the set-up of national parks and other protected areas, as well as reduce the negative impacts of forestry and hunting. The fate of the bill now depends on the politics of the new social-democratic party, the winner of March 10 elections.

Different editions from the January GEO magazine are now available as free download! In 2011 Anke Sparmann, author of GEO Magazine, travelled across European nature reserves. Her story was the cover story in 11 countries from Brazil to Slovakia and from Spain to India.

In the last months Anke Sparmann, author of German GEO Magazine, travelled across European nature reserves. The cover story of GEO’s September issue – published on August 19 – features her journey into a continent getting wilder day by day.

Dutch National Postcode Lottery supports Rewilding Europe with 3,1 million euros.