Greater Côa Valley, northern Portugal — between the Douro River (north) and Serra da Malcata (south)
Ongoing implementation
Landscape level
In one of Europe’s most depopulated rural areas, Rewilding Portugal and partners are restoring ecological connectivity, reducing wildfire risk, and revitalising local economies across the Greater Côa Valley. By reintroducing natural grazers such as Tauros and Sorraia horses, supporting Iberian wolf recovery, and creating the 120,000-hectare Greater Côa Valley wildlife corridor, the initiative is transforming abandoned farmland into biodiverse, fire-resilient landscapes. A growing network of local entrepreneurs—the Wild Côa Network—is driving nature-based tourism and sustainable enterprise, linking rewilding outcomes with community prosperity.
The Greater Côa Valley is a rugged Mediterranean landscape of oak woodlands, scrub, heath, and farmland mosaics, shaped by centuries of traditional grazing and smallholder agriculture. However, rural depopulation and land abandonment have reduced livestock grazing pressure and contributed to dense scrub and young forest expansion, increasing exposure to catastrophic wildfire risk—amplified by closely planted pine and eucalyptus plantations. The average frequency of large fires in the valley is once every six years, and repeated burning can lock landscapes into fire-prone shrub cycles that limit recovery. Fragmented habitats threaten the Iberian wolf’s viability south of the Douro River, while the Iberian lynx remains absent. More than 100,000 ha of Natura 2000 land and ongoing conservation projects now provide the foundation for restoring natural processes, wildlife, and livelihoods through rewilding.
Rewilding Portugal’s work in the Greater Côa Valley focuses on restoring natural grazing systems, improving predator–prey balance, and creating a wildlife corridor across 120,000 ha. By coupling ecological restoration with business innovation and cultural revitalisation, the initiative reduces fire risk, enhances biodiversity, and builds a modern rural economy grounded in nature and community.
The intervention centred on creating a large, connected rewilding corridor in the Greater Côa Valley, linking the Malcata mountain range in the south with the Douro Valley in the north. Rewilding Europe worked with local partners to “shape” this corridor by securing strategically located core areas through land purchase and then improving connectivity between them via land-use agreements with landowners and hunting associations. These core areas were intended to function as stepping stones, with surrounding transition and buffer zones where land use continues in more sustainable, wildlife-friendly ways. By 2023, four strategically located rewilding sites had been secured, and rewilding-based management had been applied across more than 1,500 hectares on both sides of the Côa River; as well as 3,000 hectares under rewilding management in three key areas between the Douro River valley in the north and the Sierra Malcata in the south.
A key practical measure to restore natural processes and reduce wildfire risk was the reintroduction of natural grazing using wild/semi-wild herbivores (“grazing fire brigades”). This approach was chosen in response to land abandonment and declining livestock grazing, which had allowed dense scrub and young forest to proliferate, increasing susceptibility to catastrophic wildfires—exacerbated locally by closely planted pine and eucalyptus. The intervention involved releasing free-ranging herbivores to create more open, diverse mosaic habitats and firebreak-like open spaces. Two herds of Sorraia horses were released in the landscape, and in 2023 Tauros were released for the first time, with the herd expected to support the restoration of grassland and woodland habitats. The natural process leveraged is herbivory: grazing and browsing to maintain habitat heterogeneity, reduce fuel loads, and support broader species comeback.
To support coexistence with the Iberian wolf and reduce conflict risks linked to changing grazing patterns, preventative measures were implemented under the LIFE WolFlux scheme (started 2019). This included training livestock-guarding dogs from puppyhood and handing them over to local farmers; the programme reached 101 dogs delivered by 2023. In parallel, work to improve ecological connectivity and conditions for the fragmented wolf subpopulation south of the Douro was supported by LIFE WolFlux, with a further LIFE grant (LupiLynx) starting in 2024 to continue supporting wolves and promote the comeback of Iberian lynx. The intervention logic relies on restoring carnivory and scavenging dynamics as wolf numbers increase, influencing herbivore behaviour and vegetation through a “landscape of fear”, and increasing carrion availability for scavengers.
Alongside ecological measures, implementation included enabling local nature-based enterprise as a practical mechanism to underpin a rewilding-based economy and build local support. Rewilding Portugal established the Wild Côa Network (launched 2021) as an association of enterprises aligned around a shared vision for a wilder and more sustainable region; it grew to over 40 members. Rewilding Europe Capital supported entrepreneurs through loans and business advice, helping establish several nature-based tourism businesses (including Casa da Cisterna, Wildlife Portugal, Matreira and Miles Away). Practical steps mentioned include using a loan to complete an extension to Casa da Cisterna accommodation near Faia Brava, and presenting supported enterprises at tourism fairs as part of the network. Capacity-building for implementation included two nature guide trainings (16 candidates) to equip local people to deliver new tourism programmes. A 200 km signposted walking and horse-riding trail (the Côa Valley Grand Route) was launched in 2014 to channel visitors through rewilding sites, supporting the tourism offer.
The main implementation obstacles described were landscape-scale land abandonment (leading to scrub encroachment and fire risk), the presence of extensive pine and eucalyptus plantations increasing fire susceptibility, and the risk of overgrazing and wolf conflict associated with subsidy-driven cattle grazing on small plots. The project response combined land acquisition and agreements to assemble connected areas, the deployment of wild/semi-wild grazers to manage vegetation and fire risk through natural processes, and conflict-prevention measures (guard dogs and other preventative actions) to support coexistence with wolves while ecological connectivity is improved.
Information not available yet.
