There are species that inhabit the landscape. And there are species that shape it. The European beaver (Castor fiber) belongs to the second group — it is what ecology refers to as an ‘ecosystem engineer’, an animal that does not merely live in its environment, but transforms it in a profound and lasting way. Its dams, built from branches, logs and mud, transform linear watercourses into mosaics of wetlands. And it is from this simple act that a cascade of ecological effects is set in motion, remarkable for its scope.

Four years of rewilding are transforming Paul de Toirões into an oasis of biodiversity in the Greater Côa Valley. A former mine that once drained life from the landscape is now giving it back twofold, retaining ever more water and supporting an ever-increasing number of species.

The National Nature Restoration Plan is an opportunity we must not let slip by. Restoring habitats is essential – but restoration also means bringing back the species we have lost. The tortoise is one of the clearest examples of where our ambition falls short.

A colónia de andorinhão-preto (Apus apus) existente na muralha de Trancoso, provavelmente a maior em Portugal, encontra-se atualmente em perigo devido a obras a decorrer em plena época de reprodução desta espécie protegida, que se encontra atualmente em acelerado declínio em vários países europeus.

Na sequência das recentes declarações públicas de José Manuel Fernandes, Ministro da Agricultura e Mar, sobre a atuação do Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas (ICNF), a Rewilding Portugal vem, em nome da defesa rigorosa da legislação ambiental e do interesse público, posicionar-se com firmeza e responsabilização cívica contra estas declarações que procuram abrir precentes perigosos e inaceitáveis à luz da não ingerência de poderes.

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.