Rewilding Spain

Rewilding Spain, part of the Rewilding Europe initiative, is working to restore natural processes and wildlife across the Iberian Highlands. The project focuses on creating space for forests, rivers, and steppe habitats to thrive, while also supporting nature-based tourism and economic opportunities for local communities. 

The Iberian Highlands, spanning Castilla-La Mancha and Aragón, feature over 850,000 hectares of diverse habitats, including pine, oak, and juniper forests, steppe, and dramatic river canyons. This landscape supports thriving raptor populations, such as Bonelli’s eagle, peregrine falcon, and eagle owl, and has seen the return of deer, wild boar, mouflon, and Egyptian and griffon vultures. However, top predators like the Iberian lynx, Iberian wolf, and brown bear remain absent, while ongoing land abandonment and depopulation highlight both ecological opportunities and socio-economic challenges. 

With ERF support, Rewilding Spain can scale up efforts to restore habitats, strengthen wildlife populations, and expand sustainable tourism.