Rewilding efforts are now supporting wildlife comeback in Portugal’s Greater Côa Valley. The first of a network of wildlife watching hides has just opened in the landscape, providing visitors with an exciting window onto this recovery and supporting the development of nature-based tourism.
Located in Trancoso, Mercearia do Fradinho is one of Rewilding Portugal’s strategic partners and a member of the Wild Côa Network. It has already provided catering services for several of the organisation’s events and is a supplier of extremely high-quality local products that circulate throughout the territory, which are also the ones guiding principles in our work.
According to the Red Book of Mammals, the wildcat is Endangered in Portugal and it is estimated that there are less than 100 adult individuals, and this is the first confirmed record for the Greater Côa Valley, outside the Serra da Malcata, in more than 30 years, although there have been some sporadic unconfirmed observations. Habitat loss and hybridisation with domestic cats are its biggest conservation problems. In parts of Europe such as Scotland, 88 per cent of wildcats have domestic cat genes. We are losing the genetic uniqueness of this species and urgent action is needed to conserve this unique animal!
Michèle Trotta was one of the seven winners of the competition for international artists, who were then selected to develop a piece in natural materials in the Greater Côa Valley as part of the CÔA – Corridor of Arts festival. In an interview, she talks about her work and her experience in the region.
Laurien Holtjer has been Rewilding Europe’s Head of Communication for many years and is one of the faces responsible for the organization’s strategy for the coming years in terms of communication and the involvement of local people and communities. In this interview, we learn more about her vision of the rewilding approach and how she analyzes the evolution of the Greater Côa Valley in recent years.
On 19 June, Paredes de Coura hosted an event promoted in partnership with LIFE WolFlux, a project coordinated by Rewilding Portugal, to promote the training and replicability of solutions for the prevention and detection of poaching aimed at the Iberian wolf and its wild prey. The training session was aimed at officers and civilians from the GNR-SEPNA, Nature Watchers, and the ICNF’s National Corps of Forestry Agents and Forest Sappers, working in the districts of Viana do Castelo, Braga and Vila Real, where the Iberian wolf occurs in Portugal.
At the beginning of 2024, we launched our new magazine Wild 2023, which presented all the developments in our work over the past year. Our team leader Pedro Prata gave an overview of this journey in the magazine’s editorial, which we are now publishing in open format. Over the next few months we will gradually share the various news items and articles that make up this magazine.
A herd of eight European bison have just arrived in Herdade do Vale Feitoso in Portugal. Managed in cooperation with the Rewilding Portugal team, they will enhance carbon sequestration, boost biodiversity, and support the growth of nature-based tourism.
A new study has calculated that the European bison population currently roaming free in the Southern Carpathians rewilding landscape in Romania could help to draw down and store 54,000 tonnes of carbon a year – the equivalent of the annual CO2 emissions of almost 123.000 european cars. This positive climate impact magnifies the importance of supporting wildlife comeback across European landscapes, with rewilding playing a key role.
A survey carried out by the University of Aveiro has shown that rewilding efforts in Portugal’s Greater Côa Valley are helping roe deer return to the landscape. This is good news for Iberian wolves – and for local farmers.