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.
Portugal has entered a decisive phase in its conservation policy. The National Nature Restoration Plan (PNRN), presented by the Government in early June and currently under public consultation, is the national response to the European Nature Restoration Regulation, which requires Member States to restore at least 20% of degraded land and marine areas by 2030, and to restore all degraded ecosystems by 2050. It is a historic commitment, with associated targets, deadlines and funding.
But restoring nature is not just about recovering habitats, planting trees or reopening watercourses. It is also about returning to ecosystems the species that have disappeared from them due to human activity — and which today cannot return on their own. This is where the country’s ambition still has room to grow. Among the many measures in the PNRN, the reintroduction of missing terrestrial fauna remains an under-explored angle. And there are few stories that illustrate this as well as that of the tortoise.
A species that once lived here — and which could live here again
When we talk about Mediterranean tortoises, we are referring to species that surprise almost everyone: either because they have never heard of them, or because they do not expect such a small, inconspicuous animal to play such an important ecological role.
There are fossil records dating back several thousand years in Peniche, Sesimbra, Bombarral, Tomar and the Algarve. The tortoise is not an exotic species that we are seeking to ‘introduce’ to Portugal — it is a species that once lived here and was driven to extinction by direct human action, through consumption, the use of fire and habitat destruction. Bringing it back is not a fantasy: it is an ecological restoration that makes perfect sense.
Two species have a significant historical presence on the Iberian Peninsula: the Hermann’s tortoise (Testudo hermanni) and the Greek tortoise (Testudo graeca). They share key characteristics — they prefer mosaic habitats, with clearings and scrubland; they feed mainly on herbaceous plants, but also on small invertebrates; and they reach maturity between 8 and 15 years of age, depending on the population, sex and environmental conditions. Looking to the future climate, the Greek tortoise, accustomed to drier climates, may prove particularly well-suited to the conditions that southern Portugal will face in the coming decades.
Small in size, big in ecological functionality
From an ecological perspective, the tortoise is what ecologists call a microhabitat engineer. Its slow, steady movement creates small disturbances in the soil and vegetation that promote plant diversity on a micro-scale. The dispersal of seeds along their daily routes is perhaps their most important function in fragmented habitats: the seeds pass through the digestive system relatively intact and are deposited far from the parent plant. They are also a significant prey source for the golden eagle, the imperial eagle and the goshawk — a link in a food web that extends far beyond their role as herbivores.
There is also an essential underlying condition for the tortoise to thrive, and this is precisely what rewilding promotes: a fully functioning ecosystem. Herbivores in sufficient numbers to maintain the mosaic of open and closed habitats the species requires, and predators that regulate wild boar and fox populations — a direct threat to juveniles. The tortoise does not return in isolation: it returns as part of a living system.
What the south of France teaches us
Southern France provides one of the best-documented cases in Europe. The Hermann’s tortoise had been reduced to relict populations, concentrated in the Massif des Maures and the Plaine des Maures in the Var, following decades of decline caused by urbanisation, wildfires and illegal collection.
In August 2021, a fire devastated around 7,000 hectares of natural habitat, affecting the Plaine des Maures National Nature Reserve — one of the main strongholds of the species in mainland France. The rescue operations, which mobilised many volunteers, made it possible to accurately quantify direct mortality: around 40% across the entire patrolled area, but reaching 69% in closed habitat, where tortoise densities were higher. This is a figure we should take note of in Portugal, a country where major fires are a recurring reality.
The French conservation response has been developed gradually since the 1980s, coordinated primarily by SOPTOM, and has combined strict habitat protection with captive breeding programmes, translocations and, in 2009, the designation of 5,276 hectares as a National Nature Reserve. The most instructive aspect, however, is methodological: before any release or population reinforcement, a detailed assessment of the habitat is carried out — vegetation composition, soil quality, availability of breeding sites and risk of human disturbance. It is this meticulous approach that makes the French case a benchmark for Mediterranean reptile programmes, including those in Spain.
The case for Portugal
The potential in Portugal is enormous. From the mountains of the Algarve to the Guadiana Valley, from the cork oak forests of the Alentejo to the Costa Vicentina, from Arrábida and the Sado Estuary to the Aire and Candeeiros and São Mamede mountain ranges, from the International Tagus to the International Douro, from the Serra da Malcata to the Côa Plateau and on to Trás-os-Montes — the potential range covers practically the entire territory with Mediterranean conditions. Climate models up to 2100 for Testudo graeca identify a vast area of the Iberian Peninsula as suitable for the species.
There is, however, a crucial difference compared to other missing species: the tortoise will not arrive on its own. Given the existing habitat fragmentation in Portugal and the Iberian Peninsula, it is practically impossible for Spanish populations to naturally recolonise our territory. A structured reintroduction programme — which identifies priority areas, sources animals for release and monitors populations post-release — is essential. And there are natural partners: Spain already has breeding centres and active reintroduction programmes in several regions.
There is another risk factor that we cannot ignore: the pet trade. For decades, the Hermann’s tortoise was one of the best-selling reptiles on the European market, and Portugal was no exception. For years, animals caught directly in the wild were sold at markets and fairs, decimating wild populations. Today, the sale of Testudo hermanni is regulated by CITES — listed in Appendix II — and captive breeding for commercial purposes is legal subject to certification. But the black market persists, and animals are still being taken from the wild in countries with less stringent enforcement. Any serious programme in Portugal must include a rigorous protocol for certifying the origin of the animals, ensuring that the translocated individuals come from genetically suitable populations.
To restore is also to breathe new life into
The PNRN commits the country to concrete targets and significant investment in the restoration of our ecosystems. This is a time to be ambitious — and ambition is measured not only by the hectares restored or the trees planted, but by the life we choose to bring back to the landscape.
The tortoise is a test of that ambition. It is a species that once lived here, that we lost through our own doing, that plays an irreplaceable ecological role, and whose return depends entirely on a deliberate decision to bring it back. As France has demonstrated, it is possible to do this well, methodically and scientifically. The question that remains is simple: do we have the ambition to do so?
In Spain, it is already being done. In France, it has already been done. In Portugal, we have not yet begun. The National Nature Restoration Plan is the opportunity to change that.