A pilot project organised by Rewilding Portugal and funded by Turismo de Portugal aims to transform key villages in the region into gateways for nature tourism in the Greater Côa Valley. On Monday, Vilar Maior, in Sabugal, took a historic step by officially becoming the first Rewilding Village in the Greater Côa Valley, following the signing of a cooperation agreement between Rewilding Portugal, the Municipality of Sabugal, the Union of Parishes of Aldeia da Ribeira, Vilar Maior and Badamalos, and the Muralhas de Vilar Maior Association.
The public ceremony, part of the programme for Vilar Maior Cultural Week, brought together around fifty villagers on Monday 3 August at the entrance to their Living Museum, where this project – which aims to strengthen the link between nature conservation, heritage, sustainable tourism and local development – was presented to the community for the first time.
Promoted by Rewilding Portugal, the Rewilding Villages project aims to create a network of villages that will act as genuine gateways to the rewilding areas of the Greater Côa Valley, welcoming visitors, helping them to discover the area and promoting a more comprehensive, informed and beneficial experience for local communities. Vilar Maior will be the pilot village for this model, which will in future be extended to other localities in the region.
During the public presentation, Fernando Teixeira, Head of Communications and Enterprise at Rewilding Portugal, emphasised that the project marks a new phase in the organisation’s work in this village, which holds a special place for the organisation. “Over the last few years, we have been working to give space back to nature. Now we want to take another step forward and ensure that those who visit this area also get to know the villages, stay longer, use local services and take away an even richer experience, whilst also leaving something behind in the area they visit. We want nature to also be an opportunity to foster local development,” he said.
Among the initiatives planned for Vilar Maior are the installation of interpretive panels about the area, the village and biodiversity; the creation of an artistic mural dedicated to one or more of the region’s iconic species, and a large-scale artistic sculpture also dedicated to a key species; new signage to identify the village; and the creation of a Rewilding Visitor Centre at the reception of the Vilar Maior Living Museum. All these initiatives will be fully funded and coordinated by Rewilding Portugal with support from Turismo de Portugal’s ‘Linha Crescer Turismo’ programme.
The project is also part of a wider investment supported by Turismo de Portugal, which will enable the development of a new website dedicated to tourism in the Greater Côa Valley, a mobile app to help visitors explore the area, and a smart system for monitoring visitor numbers in the rewilding areas, thereby contributing to more sustainable management of tourist flows. These elements were presented to the public during the public meeting as part of the integrated vision for the future of tourism in the region.
The signing of the memorandum of understanding between these four organisations also formalises the creation of a monitoring committee comprising all of them, responsible for overseeing all phases of the project, from the selection of artistic proposals to the implementation of the various interventions in the village. At the end of the ceremony, representatives from the four organisations officially signed the collaboration agreement, marking the launch of a project that aims to position Vilar Maior as a national benchmark in linking nature, heritage and the community.
For Rewilding Portugal, this is just the first step in a broader vision for the Greater Côa Valley. “We hope that, in a few years’ time, when people talk about the Rewilding Villages, everyone will know that it was in Vilar Maior that it all began,” was the organisation’s closing message.
