2nd National Rewilding Symposium
Organiser: Rewilding Portugal
Location: Biodiversity Gallery, Porto
When: 3 and 4 November 2025
THE EVENT:
On 3 and 4 November 2025, the Biodiversity Gallery in Porto will host the second edition of the national rewilding symposium, organised by Rewilding Portugal, the largest event on rewilding in the country, focusing on its technical and field development, based on academic and scientific foundations.
There will be two more full days dedicated to rewilding, ecological restoration, nature conservation, the economic potential of these approaches, the reintroduction of key species, among many other topics related to this approach to nature conservation. This year, this second symposium will be dedicated especially to the importance of reintroducing certain species that play a very important role in the functionality of Portuguese landscapes, namely the mountain goat and the European beaver.
The event will be broadcast online and open to the general public, in addition to its in-person version, which is by invitation only.
PROGRAMME:
DAY 1 – 3 NOVEMBER
09:00 – Welcome to participants and introduction to the event agenda [Pedro Prata, Executive Director of Rewilding Portugal, and Bárbara Pais, event moderator]
Block 1 – The return of wildlife in Europe and Portugal
09:15 – The return of wildlife across Europe [Carolina Navarro, Director of Rewilding at Rewilding Europe]
09:45 – Historical context and current trends in wildlife in Portugal, with a focus on megafauna [Pedro Prata, Executive Director of Rewilding Portugal]
10:15 – Conservation Paleobiology: How can the past help in biodiversity conservation [Afonso Barrocal, Conservation Biologist and Researcher at CE3C]
10:45 – Discussion session + questions and answers
12:00 – Lunch break
Block 2 – The role of reintroductions and population boosts
13:30 – Successful reintroductions in the Netherlands [Leo Linnartz, Team Knowledge Manager at ARK Rewilding]
14:00 – The European perspective and the European Wildlife Comeback Fund [Sophie Monsarrat, Rewilding Landscape Manager at Rewilding Europe]
14:30 – Population reinforcement and recovery of the black vulture in Portugal: a collaborative approach [José Pereira, President of Palombar – Nature and Rural Heritage Conservation]
15:00 – Discussion session + questions and answers
15:45 – Coffee Break
Block 3 – Success stories in the Iberian Peninsula
4:15 p.m. – The case of the Iberian lynx and the possibility of replicating it with the wildcat [Rodrigo Serra, Director of the National Centre for Iberian Lynx Reproduction]
16:45 – The reintroduction of the osprey in Portugal [Paulo Célio, Professor at the University of Porto and Researcher at CIBIO/BIOPOLIS]
17:15 – Recovery of the caiman in Europe and Portugal [Ricardo Jorge Lopes, Researcher and Assistant Professor at CE3C and the University of Lisbon]
17:45 – Discussion session + questions and answers
21:00 – Night visit to the Biodiversity Gallery (by registration)
DAY 2 – 4 NOVEMBER
Block 4 – The importance of the beaver as an ecosystem engineer
09:00 – Bringing the beaver back to England [Robert Needham, Director of Restoration at the Beaver Trust]
09:30 – Coexisting with the beaver in the European context [Gerhard Schwab, Beaver Manager in Southern Bavaria]
10:00 – Ecology and role of the beaver – the reality of the species in Spanish territory [Benjamin Sanz, Iberian Mammal Tracking Specialist]
10:30 – Discussion session + questions and answers
11:45 – Lunch break
Block 5 – The return of the mountain goat to Portugal
1:30 p.m. – The ecology and role of the mountain goat [José Granados Torres, Natural Environment Management Service, Regional Delegation, Department of Sustainability and Environment, Granada]
14:00 – The touristic and economic potential of the Ibex: photography as a means of attraction and appreciation [João Ferreira, Nature Photographer]
14:30 – The potential of the Spanish ibex and its reintroduction in Serra da Estrela [Manuel Malva, Biologist and Consultant at Rewilding Portugal]
15:00 – Discussion session + questions and answers
15:45 – Coffee Break
Block 6 – The strategy for nature restoration in Portugal
16:15 – Nature restoration as a solution and resilience in the face of climate change [Cristina Branquinho, Researcher and Professor of Ecology at CE3C and the University of Lisbon]
16:45 – River restoration in Portugal [José Pimenta Machado, President of the Portuguese Environment Agency, APA]
17:15 – Forest management in the context of promoting biodiversity [Helena Freitas, Professor of Ecology and Biodiversity at the University of Coimbra]
17:45 – Discussion session + questions and answers
18:45 – End of the last session
19:00 – Closing session of the symposium [Pedro Prata, Executive Director of Rewilding Portugal; Bárbara Pais, event moderator, and Maria João Fonseca, Director of the Biodiversity Gallery]
REGISTRATION:
SOLD OUT