The Wild Côa Network was established by the Rewilding Portugal team in 2021 to drive the development of nature-based enterprise in and around the Greater Côa Valley. A recent survey demonstrated the network’s beneficial impact to date, and offered insights into how this impact could be scaled up going forwards.

Starting this month, the Rewilding Portugal team are coordinating cross-border, multi-partner efforts to enhance the recovery of Iberian lynx and Iberian wolf populations south of the Douro River.

At the beginning of November, Portuguese photographer and videographer Ricardo Lourenço won three prizes at the Portuguese Rewilding Photo Contest, which is co-organised by the Rewilding Portugal team. In October, one of his images was also highly commended at the prestigious European Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. We caught up with Ricardo to find out more about his life, work, and thoughts on rewilding.

Organised and managed by the Rewilding Portugal team, the “CÔA – Corridor of Arts” Festival united art, nature and culture in the Greater Côa Valley this July. Attracting thousands of visitors, the event helped the team establish and deepen connections with a wide range of stakeholders and promote the benefits of rewilding to a huge audience.

On the banks of Portugal’s Côa River, a thriving connection between people, nature and business offers new hope for the future.

Tauros have been released into the Greater Côa Valley for the first time. The herd will play a vital role in restoring grassland and woodland habitats in this rewilding landscape in Portugal.

In Portugal’s Greater Côa Valley, Paul de Toirões is the fourth rewilding site in an expanding network. With the local rewilding team overseeing key restoration measures, it will become an increasingly important ecological stepping stone.

The symposium, which helped promote rewilding in both a European and Portuguese context, featured a range of presentations from rewilding thought leaders. It has so far attracted over 2000 online views.

A newly established rewilding site in northern Portugal, known as Ermo das Águias (‘wilderness of the eagles’), is providing an opportunity to improve landscape connectivity and promote the regeneration of native vegetation and enhance the benefits of natural grazing.

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.