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

In Portugal’s Greater Côa Valley, the restoration of trophic complexity and connectivity is a story of steadily expanding scale.

A new collaboration between Rewilding Europe and for-purpose venture Earth Today means anyone can now sponsor the rewilding of land in the Greater Côa Valley. The overall aim of the venture is to ramp up the conservation and restoration of wild nature across the world.

The Central Apennines rewilding initiative was relaunched in the summer of 2018. Over the last 12 months, the development of wildlife corridors has provided a better platform for Marsican brown bear recovery.

An inaugural grant from the newly established Endangered Landscapes Programme will enable Rewilding Europe and local partners to develop a 120,000-hectare wildlife corridor in the Greater Côa Valley in northern Portugal. By scaling up current rewilding efforts in Western Iberia, this will transform a region with high levels of rural depopulation and species loss into one with new opportunities for both wild nature and people. The 2.6 million euro grant complements another for 2.1 million euros for a record-breaking wetland and steppe restoration project in the Danube Delta.

Rewilding Europe and WWF Romania are delighted to announce the successful reintroduction of 23 European bison at two sites in the Southern Carpathian mountains of Romania. The animals, which were sourced from nine European nature reserves and zoos, have been released over the course of several weeks. Ongoing rewilding efforts involving bison began in the Southern Carpathians in 2014. This reintroduction – the largest ever in the Carpathians – significantly advances the comeback of this magnificent species and takes the local population up to 53.  Around 30 of these animals are now freely roaming in the wild, with the recently released bison kept in enclosures until their full release later this year.

Last week, two European bison were released in the newly established bison release site at the foothills of Poiana Ruscă Mountains, part of the Southern Carpathians rewilding area. The bison were relocated from the Romanian bison reserve in Brasov county.

Rewilding Europe’s writer and editor Daniel Allen spoke with Alexandros Karamanlidis, our regional manager and PhD wildlife biologist about the resurgence of apex predators across much of Europe, and the implications for conservation strategies and tourism.

At the edge of Poland, close to the sources of the river San, a beautiful valley divides the forests on both sides of the border with Ukraine. An ancient lime tree in the meadows and a charming overgrown cemetery remind the visitor of bygone times, when this valley was intensively used by peasant families.