Rewilding Portugal is a non-profit association dedicated to making Portugal a wilder place by restoring ecosystems and wildlife corridors, with a flagship focus on the Greater Côa Valley. Key initiatives include scaling up rewilding across a 120,000-hectare wildlife corridor and the LIFE Wolflux project, which improves wolf habitat connectivity south of the Douro River.
Rewilding Portugal (legally registered as ARIP – Associação Rewilding Iberia PT) is a Portuguese non-profit organisation headquartered in Arrifana, Guarda, committed to promoting wilder nature across Portugal and the broader Iberian Peninsula. Founded in January 2019, it serves as the principal partner of Rewilding Europe in the Greater Côa Valley rewilding area.
The organisation focuses on restoring natural processes, recovering wildlife populations, and reconnecting fragmented habitats through rewilding principles. Its primary area of work is the Greater Côa Valley in northeastern Portugal, a biodiverse border region stretching from the Douro River in the north to the Malcata Mountains in the south. This landscape, characterised by ancient dehesa, sierra, and montado habitats, is ecologically connected to similar wild areas across the Iberian Peninsula through the Natura 2000 network. The region is also home to the Faia Brava reserve — Portugal's first private protected area — which sits within this corridor.
Rewilding Portugal manages three areas in the Greater Côa Valley, including the Ermo das Águias rewilding area, where ecological restoration actions are being implemented to support natural processes and trophic chains. The organisation is scaling up its efforts to reinforce a 120,000-hectare wildlife corridor, working to reverse decades of land abandonment and agricultural decline in an area once dominated by olive, almond, and cereal cultivation, and traditional sheep husbandry.
The organisation also leads the LIFE Wolflux project, an EU-funded initiative aimed at improving habitat connectivity for wolves south of the Douro River, supporting the recovery of this keystone predator and the broader ecological balance it brings.
Rewilding Portugal operates with full transparency, publishing annual activity and financial reports and maintaining clear governance structures. It actively invites public participation through volunteering, touristic experiences, and community collaboration, and partners with local municipalities such as Pinhel to promote awareness and engagement with rewilding.
Our Goal
Rewilding Portugal aims to restore natural processes, recover wildlife populations, and reconnect fragmented habitats across Portugal, with a primary focus on creating a wilder, more biodiverse Greater Côa Valley.
Our Wishes
Rewilding Portugal welcomes individuals, volunteers, and communities to get involved in its projects and contribute to the restoration of Portugal's wild landscapes.
