Head of Landscapes at Rewilding Europe, Deli Saavedra has the important task of monitoring the progress of rewilding efforts in different areas currently underway across Europe. In an interview, he talks to us about the biggest challenges of his job, the future of this collective and unified project and his plans for the future.

Launched at the conclusion of a high-level gathering in Vienna, the European Rewilding Coalition brings together Europe’s leading practical rewilding organisations. By working together, the coalition membership will accelerate landscape-scale rewilding across the continent. Rewilding Portugal is part of this coalition and were present in this gathering.

A nationally recognized actress, Ana Varela spent the last year in the Greater Côa Valley with her colleague and actress Sara Prata, so that together they could get to know the region and Rewilding Portugal’s work in it. She immediately fell in love with what she saw and it’s been a bond that has grown closer and will have a very important new chapter next year: Ana will be the voice-over for the new documentary we have in production. In the meantime, she has already returned this year with her family.

An article recently published by the Wildlife Unit of the University of Aveiro, in partnership with Rewilding Portugal and Zoological (Lino et al., 2023), which includes data collected as part of the LIFE WolFlux project, highlights the impact of predation by stray dogs on livestock and reveals a greater representation of wild ungulates in the diet of the Iberian wolf south of the Douro River.

Chef Miguel Veiga is one of Rewilding Portugal’s oldest partners, having already provided catering services in several of our events and being part of this big family. Recently, he also became a member of the Wild Côa Network to further strengthen this connection and increase synergies with other members.

Fungi are possibly the organisms with the greatest importance for ecosystems and for our life that we know the least about. They are the main decomposers in most terrestrial ecosystems, recycling organic matter in a wide variety of forms, from dead wood to animal carcasses, and allowing nutrient cycling to continue. They create soil and form symbioses with other organisms, mainly plants, and almost invisibly allow healthy forests to exist. Among various other roles, fungi have also been an important source of medicine and food for humans.

Brands have been slowly moving towards more sustainable and environmentally conscious production. Wildling Shoes, based in Germany, already has a long history of this type of production and has now developed, in partnership with Rewilding Portugal, a new shoe called Perto, which goes even further. A shoe that supports producers who live in a positive way with the Iberian wolf, supported by the LIFE WolFlux project.

On 4 September, the European Commission issued an official press release urging local and national authorities to take action in cases where the concentration of wolf packs has become a danger to livestock and people. In response to the Commission’s press release on “Wolves in Europe”, Rewilding Portugal sent back an official answer to communicate our concerns about opening the door to update the legal framework on the status of protection of the wolf to add further flexibility, with a press release lagued with factual distortion and demagogy, an irresponsibility that could put at risk the wolf, as well as the efforts and investment carried out in the past decades to recover the species and to move forward on a path of coexistence.

Are you a European entrepreneur or NGO with a desire to enhance wild nature? Rewilding Europe Capital may be able to supply the support you need to help realise your ambition, including – for the first time – repayable grants.

Organised and managed by the Rewilding Portugal team, the “CÔA – Corridor of Arts” Festival united art, nature and culture in the Greater Côa Valley this July. Attracting thousands of visitors, the event helped the team establish and deepen connections with a wide range of stakeholders and promote the benefits of rewilding to a huge audience.