Applying Rewilding Principles in Protected Areas – Resources for Managers
EUROPARC has teamed up with Rewilding Europe to support Protected Areas in creating landscapes where nature and people thrive.
On this page, discover different resources and publications provided by Rewilding Europe that can help Protected Area professionals use Rewilding Principles as a way to restore nature.
We also invite you to check out the special “Rewilding and Protected Areas” Knowledge Hub to discover additional interesting case studies, news and webinars.
Picture: Grazers in Kemeri National Park by Andis Liepa – Kemeri National Park Fund.

Grazing for wildfire prevention, ecosystem services, biodiversity and landscape management.

GrazeLIFE - Practicioners Guide
This practitioners guide includes recommendations for landowners and users who want to improve their grazing practices regarding biodiversity, climate adaptation and other ecosystem services.
It is a result of the GrazeLIFE LIFE Preparatory Project, which was made up of a consortium of Universities, landowners, land managers and NGOs from 11 European countries. Throughout the project, they collected information from literature, conducted interviews with 95 stakeholders and did eight regional area studies. This ensures that the recommendations in the publication are supported by scientific and practical evidence.
The publication provides information on what breeds of species to use, why extensive grazing can be a conservation tool, as well as practical tips to ensure year-round grazing.
It is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Croatian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, German, Polish, Lithuanian, Dutch and Romanian.
Guidelines on reintroducing bison

The Reintroduction of the European Bison (Bison bonasus) into the South-Western Carpathians (Țarcu Mountains)
The Carpathian Mountain Range possesses a huge network of Protected Areas, including National Parks and Natura 2000 sites, the largest area of old-growth forests from Europe and wild rivers. Here, there is a stronghold of European bison and one of the few places where a metapopulation might exist.
Thanks to a range of conservation initiatives in Romania since 2012, around 170 European bison now roam freely in the Romanian Carpathians, with the largest population in Țarcu Mountains. However, even here these are not yet considered a viable population and conservation efforts as such must continue.
This publication is a collection of best practice guidelines to support the reintroduction processes of European Bison. The recommendations are based on the six-year-long LIFE RE-Bison project in the Southern Carpathians, Romania, as well as the best available knowledge on bison biology, ethology and genetics, human-bison conflict management, as well as legal and administrative aspects of reintroductions.
Supporting Europe's Scavengers

Circle of Life: a new way to support Europe's scavengers
Depending on the national policy context, dealing with carcasses can be a challenging topic and their removal is often required by law. Nonetheless, scavengers like vultures rely on them for their survival.
Rewilding Europe’s ‘Circle of Life: a new way to support Europe’s scavengers’ brochure provides on overview on how this link in the food chain can once again be restored. It addresses stakeholders managing nature, fauna, and roads. Furthermore, it intends to inform policymakers.
Legal guidance for Rewilding
Italy
The Lifescape project created legal guidance to support rewilding in Italy. It is structured under the following four topics:
- Obtaining and protecting land for rewilding;
- Managing land for rewilding purposes;
- Rewilding and animals; and
- Legal responsibilities and liabilities.
The information is available in both Italian and English.
Portugal
The Lifescape project created legal guidance to support rewilding in Portugal. It is structured under the following four topics:
- Obtaining and protecting land for rewilding;
- Developing and managing land for rewilding;
- Rewilding and animals; and
- Legal responsibilities and liabilities.
Additionally, there is information on fires, dams, forests, and classified areas. It is available in Portuguese and English.
England & Wales
The Lifescape project created legal guidance to support rewilding in England and Wales. It is structured under the following topics:
- Developing and managing rewilding projects;
- Legal responsibilities and liabilities:
- Animal reintroductions;
- Legal mechanisms to protect land; and
- Tax and Subsidies.
Poland
The Lifescape project created legal guidance to support rewilding in Poland. It is structured under the following topics:
- Managing land for rewilding purposes;
- Legal responsibilities and liabilities;
- Rewilding and Animals; and
- Obtaining and protecting land for rewilding
Scotland
The Lifescape project created legal guidance to support rewilding in Scotland. It is structured under the following topics:
- Developing and managing rewilding projects;
- Legal responsibilities and liabilities:
- Animal reintroductions;
- Legal mechanisms to protect land; and
- Tax and subsidies.
Videos
Videos
European Rewilding Network | Rewilding Intro | Saving Wildcats
Go on a journey to Scotland and learn journey to Scotland to learn about 'Saving Wildcats' work to prevent the extinction of wildcats by breeding and releasing them into the wild in the Scottish Highlands.
European Rewilding Network | Rewilding Intro | Wild Ennerdale
Join Wild Ennerdale on a journey to the northwestern edge of the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, where the Ennerdale Valley boasts some of England’s most vibrant natural environments.
European Rewilding Network | Rewilding Intro | Quinta do Pisão
Travel to the Park of EUROPARC Council member João Cardoso de Melo: Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, part of the Natura 2000 network nearby Lisbon metropolitan area.
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