Rewilding Romania

Rewilding Romania is part of the Rewilding Europe initiative. It is working in the southern Carpathians to create one of the largest wilderness landscapes in Europe south of the Arctic Circle. Building on over a million hectares of protected areas, the project focuses on restoring natural processes and wildlife while developing nature-based tourism and economic opportunities for local communities. 

The southern Carpathians have vast forests, wild rivers, and landscapes shaped by traditional farming, as well as a large variety of wildlife, including wolves, lynx, bears, and red deer. Yet hunting and other pressures have kept populations unnaturally low, while widespread farmland abandonment has left both ecological gaps and economic challenges. Rewilding offers a way to address both, enabling wildlife to return while creating new livelihoods. 

With support from the ERF grant, Rewilding Romania can expand its work to restore habitats, strengthen wildlife populations, and build sustainable tourism.