Europe's Rewilding Revolution: How Wolves, Bison, and Beavers Are Transforming Abandoned Farmland
In the rolling hills of central Portugal, a landscape that was once stripped bare by intensive agriculture is undergoing a quiet transformation. Wild horses graze among regenerating oak forests. Red deer move through corridors that connect fragmented habitats. And for the first time in over a century, the Iberian lynx — one of the world's most endangered cats — has been spotted in the region.
This is the Greater Coa Valley, one of the flagship sites of Rewilding Europe, a continent-wide initiative that is turning abandoned farmland into thriving ecosystems. And it is not alone. From the Scottish Highlands to the Danube Delta, rewilding projects are reshaping the European landscape at a scale not seen since the Middle Ages.
Why Now
The timing is driven by demographics as much as ecology. Rural depopulation has left vast tracts of European farmland abandoned. An estimated 30 million hectares of agricultural land in Europe have been taken out of production since 1990, according to the European Environment Agency. In countries like Spain, Portugal, Romania, and Italy, entire villages have been emptied as young people migrate to cities.
Rewilding advocates see this exodus as an opportunity. Rather than letting abandoned land degrade into scrubland, they argue it should be actively managed — or unmanaged — to allow natural ecosystems to recover.
"Nature is remarkably good at healing itself if we give it space," said Frans Schepers, managing director of Rewilding Europe. "What we're doing is removing the barriers — fences, drainage ditches, monocultures — and letting ecological processes take over."
The Return of the Megafauna
The most visible aspect of rewilding is the reintroduction of large animals that were hunted to local extinction centuries ago. European bison, which were reduced to just 54 individuals in the 1920s, now number over 10,000 thanks to breeding programs and reintroductions in Poland, Romania, the Netherlands, and most recently, the United Kingdom.
Beavers have been returned to rivers across Britain, Germany, and Scandinavia, where their dam-building activity creates wetland habitats that benefit dozens of other species and reduce downstream flooding. A 2025 study by the University of Exeter found that beaver-modified landscapes stored 40 percent more water during heavy rainfall events compared to similar areas without beavers.
Wolves have naturally recolonized much of Western Europe, expanding from strongholds in the Carpathian Mountains and the Italian Apennines into France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Their return has been ecologically transformative — reducing deer overpopulation that was preventing forest regeneration — but also deeply controversial.
The Farmer Question
Livestock farmers are often the most vocal opponents of rewilding, particularly where wolves are concerned. Predation on sheep and cattle causes real economic losses, and many rural communities feel that their livelihoods are being sacrificed for an urban environmentalist vision.
"It's easy to celebrate wolves when you live in Amsterdam," said Miguel Fernandez, a sheep farmer in northern Spain. "Try celebrating when you find six dead lambs in your field."
Rewilding organizations have invested heavily in coexistence measures, including livestock guardian dogs, electric fencing, and compensation schemes for farmers who lose animals to predators. Some projects offer payments to landowners who allow wildlife corridors to cross their property.
The results have been mixed. In some regions, compensation programs have eased tensions. In others, particularly in France and Switzerland, anti-wolf sentiment has led to government-authorized culls that conservationists say undermine recovery efforts.
Economic Benefits of Wild Landscapes
Proponents of rewilding argue that it generates economic value that exceeds traditional farming in marginal areas. Wildlife tourism is booming in rewilded landscapes. The Knepp Estate in southern England, which converted from conventional farming to a rewilding project in 2001, now generates more revenue from safari tours, glamping, and ecological consultancy than it ever did from agriculture.
In Romania's Southern Carpathians, bear and wolf watching tours bring an estimated 15 million euros annually to rural communities that previously had no significant income source beyond subsistence farming.
"Rewilding is not anti-farmer," said Schepers. "It's about recognizing that in some landscapes, working with nature is more economically viable than working against it."
The European Union has begun to align its agricultural policy with this view. The latest iteration of the Common Agricultural Policy includes provisions for payments to landowners who manage land for biodiversity outcomes rather than crop production — a significant shift from the EU's historically production-oriented subsidy model.
Scaling Up
Rewilding Europe currently operates in 10 major landscapes across the continent and aims to expand to 15 by 2030. The organization's long-term vision is to rewild one million hectares of land, creating a network of interconnected wild areas that allow species to move freely across national borders.
The challenges are significant. Rewilding requires buy-in from local communities, supportive government policy, and long-term funding. It also demands a cultural shift in how Europeans relate to their landscape — moving from a vision of nature as something to be tamed and managed toward one of coexistence and ecological restoration.
But the momentum is building. As climate change intensifies and biodiversity loss accelerates, the case for allowing nature to reclaim its place in the European landscape grows stronger with each passing year. In the Greater Coa Valley and dozens of places like it, that future is already taking shape.
