Official position of Rewilding Portugal on the SOPHIA Project (Fundão–Penamacor Solar Power Plant) and associated LMATs

The 2nd National Rewilding Symposium, with the theme ‘The Return of Wildlife’, held on 3 and 4 November at the Biodiversity Gallery, was a huge success, attracting more than 2,000 online viewers and more than 100 in-person participants per day, practically filling the venue to capacity and confirming the growing public interest in rewilding and ecological restoration in Portugal.

This summer, devastating wildfires swept across Europe, with Spain and Portugal hit hardest. As extreme weather becomes more common, the restoration of natural grazing can help prevent the build-up of flammable vegetation and reduce the severity, scale, and impact of fires.

On 1 September, Rewilding Portugal will open its second local accommodation unit – Casa do Brigadeiro, located in the village of Miuzela, in the municipality of Almeida. Following the success of the Rewilding Centre in Vale de Madeira (Pinhel), which remains open and continues to offer more services and meet growing demand, this new opening reinforces the presence of the nature conservation organisation and its associated tourism in the Greater Côa Valley, expanding visitor capacity and promoting the link between nature conservation and cultural heritage.

On the slopes of Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, in the heart of the Greater Côa Valley, Quinta Vale do Tourão is much more than a farm – that’s what makes it so special and committed to the Wild Côa Network, of which it is a member. It is the reflection of a conscious return to the land, where nature and people find their place again. After a decade in France, Telma Lourenço and Xavier Mendo decided to return to their origins and transform the family farm into a living space of reconnection – with the landscape, with rural heritage and with natural cycles.

A three-year study in Portugal’s Greater Côa Valley has shown that grazing by free-roaming, semi-wild horses can help to reduce the risk of wildfire outbreaks and enhance biodiversity in Mediterranean landscapes. It has also highlighted the fact that when groups of different herbivores graze the same landscapes, this may be even more effective at reducing fire risk.

After centuries of absence, evidence of the presence of the European beaver (Castor fibre) in Portuguese territory has finally emerged, following monitoring by Rewilding Portugal in a border area with Spain. The natural dispersal of this true river engineer to Portuguese territory represents not only the return of a species that was once locally extinct, but also one of the most significant steps in the aquatic rewilding of our rivers in Portugal.

Rewilding Europe and Rewilding Portugal are excited to introduce Wilder Places – a new travel booking platform in the making. As part of Rewilding Europe’s commitment to scaling up rewilding tourism in the different countries it operates, for example in Portugal in partnership with us, Wilder Places will soon offer nature-loving travellers meaningful, impactful experiences across our thriving rewilding landscapes. Sign up now to stay informed.

With the help of Rewilding Portugal, the first landowner in Portugal’s Greater Côa Valley was recently granted a license to leave livestock carcasses in the field. This milestone moment for vulture conservation will hopefully lead to the award of many more licenses, amplifying the benefits for these iconic scavengers, local farmers, and society.

Published in the scientific journal Fire Ecology, it looks at what are the variables associated with wildfire occurrence in the Greater Côa Valley in the period of 2001-2020. This study give more insights about fire history and risk factors, showing that efforts to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire outbreaks in Mediterranean regions could benefit from a more holistic approach to landscape management that takes account of various ecological, socio-economic, and climatic factors. Rewilding can have a key role to play in such an approach.