Faia Brava – Associação de Conservação da Natureza

Faia Brava was the pioneer behind the first Private Protected Area in Portugal: the Reserva da Faia Brava, in the Vale do Côa. The association is a non-governmental environmental organisation (ONGA), founded in 2000 and based in Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, in the northeast of Portugal. It was formerly known as Associação Transumância e Natureza (ATN). In 2024 its members voted to rename it Faia Brava - Associação de Conservação da Natureza, and its founding mission, creating spaces for nature and building a more sustainable territory, is unchanged. For more than 25 years it has worked to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, bringing them closer to their original functional state. The work rests on three connected pillars: conservation and ecological restoration; nature-based visits and learning through experience; and scientific research and environmental education. One of its main initiatives is the LIFE Aegypius Return project. It aims to consolidate and expand the population of the threatened black vulture (*Aegypius monachus*) in Portugal and western Spain, through careful habitat management around existing colonies and potential new ones. Acclimation stations have been set up in the Douro Internacional, and more than one cohort of juvenile vultures has already been introduced through a soft-release programme. Faia Brava works with national and international partners, including universities, research centres, conservation foundations and local municipalities. It also promotes sustainable use of biodiversity through guided visits, nature experiences, school outreach and citizen science activities.