Rewilding Principles in Protected Areas. Insights from Rewilding Europe and Ķemeri National Park
On the 29th of January 2025, EUROPARC Federation and Rewilding Europe jointly organised a webinar on Rewilding Principles in Protected Areas.
Rewilding Principles in Protected Areas
Insights from Rewilding Europe and Ķemeri National Park
At the end of 2023, EUROPARC Federation and Rewilding Europe signed an agreement to support Protected Areas in creating landscapes where nature and people thrive. To strengthen the EUROPARC Network in doing so, we kicked off 2025 with a joint webinar showcasing Rewilding principles in Ķemeri National Park, Latvia.
During this webinar, participants heard from Julia Mata, coordinator of the European Rewilding Network. In her presentation, Julia explored how Rewilding Principles can enhance nature restoration and conservation in Protected Areas, and Rewilding Europe’s role in driving these initiatives.
Additionally, the webinar featured a case study from Ķemeri National Park in Latvia. Agnese Balandina, Manager of the Kemeri National Park Nature Centre of the Nature Conservation Agency of Latvia and Andis Liepa, Chairman of the Board of Ķemeri National Park Foundation, showcased over 20 years of wetland restoration and natural grazing practices, supported by Rewilding Principles. Participants got to learn how herds of Heck Cattle and Konik Polski horses have shaped the landscape, fostering vibrant, self-regulating habitats.
Rewilding in Protected Areas Knowledge Hub
At the end of the webinar, EUROPARC Federation and Rewilding Europe were proud to officially launch the new Rewilding and Protected Areas area in the EUROPARC Knowledge Hub! It already features two case studies, a ‘Toolkit’ with resources provided by Rewilding Europe that can be of use for Protected Area staff and relevant news articles. The Knowledge Hub is a ‘living platform’. As we deepen our cooperation with Rewilding Europe, we are eager to collect more case studies and interesting reading on this topic. Would you like to provide a case study or write an article on your experiences? Don’t hesitate to reach out to us!

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To the Rewilding and Protected Areas Knowledge Hub!
Lively debates
As EUROPARC and Rewilding Europe embark on this collaborative journey, the webinar provided a valuable opportunity to gather insights into the needs, challenges, and concerns of the Protected Area community regarding rewilding. The discussion was lively, with participants debating key topics such as the use of cattle, fencing, monitoring, and the distinctions between ‘rewilding’ and ‘conservation.’
To encourage interaction, we used Mentimeter to collect feedback. When asked about the potential of applying Rewilding Principles in Protected Areas, participants highlighted several key benefits:
- Enhanced resilience, particularly in the face of climate change.
- The restoration of natural cycles and dynamic processes.
While many recognized the positive impact of rewilding, concerns were raised about the size of natural areas. Some noted that many European landscapes are too small to sustain truly self-regulating ecosystems. However, as Julia Mata pointed out, Rewilding Principles can also be applied on a smaller scale by restoring key ecological functions such as grazing and decomposition.
Another important takeaway was that while rewilding may seem like a new concept, it is deeply rooted in traditional conservation. The approach may differ, but the ultimate goal remains the same: healthier, thriving ecosystems.
Challenges and Barriers
The discussion also addressed potential obstacles to rewilding. In addition to concerns about the scale of natural areas, policy misalignment emerged as a major challenge. Current EU and international nature policies do not always support Rewilding Principles, highlighting the need for greater political backing and policy adjustments to enable natural dynamics within and beyond Protected Areas. EUROPARC Federation and Rewilding Europe are committed to exploring this issue further.
Another significant barrier is funding, particularly for rewilding initiatives and species reintroductions. To support these efforts, Rewilding Europe has established dedicated funding opportunities. You can learn more about that here.
This webinar was an important step in understanding how rewilding can be effectively integrated into Protected Areas. As the conversation continues, we look forward to further collaboration and action to create more resilient and self-sustaining natural landscapes.
Learn more about potential barries indicated by the participants here:

Mentimeter inputs from participants during the webinar.
Links shared
The chat was buzzing with activity! Here are some interesting links shared:
- The European Wilderness Society are applying the Rewilding Principles at the European Wilderness Quality Standard. They also shared an interesting project on Wetlands Restoration: ALFAWetlands.
- As we know, especially work around large carnivores will need good communication and stakeholder engagement to ensure support. An educational board game about wolves, aimed at children was developed in the Wildlife Genomics project in Finland. Check it out here.
- An extensive publication on ecological rewilding can be read here.
- Having a surplus of natural grazers is a challenge for those using large grazers as part of their restoration or rewilding activities. The Rewilding Europe Natural Grazing Facility connects demand and supply of herbivores among organisations dedicated to rewilding principles.
- The NaturaConnect project, in which EUROPARC is a partner, works on creating a coherent Trans-European Nature Network. Within the project, there are many interesting outcomes produced on landscape scale restoration, ecological connectivity, expanding the European Protected Area network and how to finance these goals. Discover the project here.
Programme & Presentations
Welcome and introduction to the webinar
Esther Bossink, EUROPARC Federation Communications Manager.
Rewilding in Europe – what it is and why it is important?
Julia Mata, European Rewilding Network coordinator.
Natural grazing and other rewilding experiences in Ķemeri National Park.
Agnese Balandiņa, Manager of Ķemeri National Park Nature Centre of the Nature Conservation Agency of Latvia and Andis Liepa, Chairman of the Board of Ķemeri National Park Foundation.
Get Agnese and Andis Presentation!
Q&A, wrap up and closing remarks
Meet the speakers
Julia Mata
Coordinator of the European Rewilding Network
Agnese Balandiņa
Manager of Ķemeri National Park Nature Centre of the Nature Conservation Agency of Latvia
Andis Liepa
Chairman of the Board of Ķemeri National Park Foundation