On April 24 this year, one of the first members of the European Rewilding Network – the European Bison Project in Kraansvlak – celebrated its 10 year anniversary. In this blog, European Rewilding Network Exchange Officer and bison project coordinator Yvonne Kemp shares an inspirational story about the developing relationship between European bison and the people of the Netherlands.
Rewilding Europe is delighted to welcome three new members (from Spain, Bulgaria and the Netherlands) to the European Rewilding Network. Displaying impressive growth since its launch at WILD10 in Salamanca in October 2013, the network now comprises 53 members from 25 European countries (including Rewilding Europe’s eight operational areas).
A loan from Rewilding Europe Capital (REC) enabled Finland-based Snowchange Cooperative to purchase the 110-hectare Linnunsuo wetland area in April. Situated in Finnish North Karelia, the wetland was bought from Vapo, the leading developer of bioenergy in Finland and the world’s leading peat industry business, after a year of negotiation. This groundbreaking loan is the first provided by REC to a member of the European Rewilding Network (ERN).
Rewilding Europe’s first ever gathering sees team members, partners and supporters come together to review progress, look ahead to a wilder future and witness the launch of “Europe’s Five”.
Representatives of ten European Rewilding Network sites came together in March to discuss how social science and raising awareness can achieve better human-wildlife coexistence and mitigate human-wildlife conflict.
Today, conflicts with man still threaten Europe’s large carnivores species, and prevent the full recovery of their populations. In the past, strategies to mitigate these conflicts have varied between different European countries, they have typically focused on keeping large carnivores away from humans, either by eradicating them, or by restricting human access to areas where these carnivores exist.
Rewilding Europe was delighted to welcome the ERN’s 50th member in January. The Carnivores.cz initiative is a conservation programme of Friends of the Earth Czech Republic, supporting the natural recovery of wolves, lynx and bears in the Western Carpathians.
Effective communication with local stakeholders is a crucial part of any rewilding project. In December 2016 various members of the European Rewilding Network came together in a webinar to discuss their experiences with stakeholders and establish best practice.
Rewilding Europe warmly welcomes three new members into the European Rewilding Network (ERN). These new members are rewilding initiatives from Ukraine, Finland and Portugal. Since its launch at WILD10 in Salamanca in October 2013, the network doubled in size and is now counting 42 members from 22 European countries and eight areas of Rewilding Europe.
We are thrilled to announce that last week, the Board of Directors of the Dutch Postcode Lottery decided to continue its cooperation with Rewilding Europe. Based on a formal evaluation completed this year, the Board made this positive decision which means that Rewilding Europe will continue to receive financial support for the period 2017–2021. Since 2011, Rewilding Europe received 2 million Euro from the Dutch Postcode Lottery. This support has shown to be instrumental for our initiative.