Rewilding Spain Foundation is starting out a new stage after the renewal of its Board of Trustees for the next three years and the incorporation of the biologist and disseminator Odile Rodríguez de la Fuente. For the new period, main goals are the consolidation of the Iberian Highlands pioneering rewilding initiative and extending the rewilding approach other areas in Spain.
Rewilding Spain Foundation is starting out a new stage after the renewal of its Board of Trustees for the next three years and the incorporation of the biologist and disseminator Odile Rodríguez de la Fuente. For the new period, main goals are the consolidation of the Iberian Highlands pioneering rewilding initiative and extending the rewilding approach other areas in Spain.
Spain has more than 36% of its land area protected, the largest number of biosphere reserves in the world and an extraordinary and diverse natural heritage. At the same time, climate change, biodiversity loss and depopulation are serious threats that put the well-being of people and all living beings at risk.
In this context, rewilding and restoring key ecological processes provide an innovative contribution “with an increasing institutional support at all levels”, according to Chairman José María Rey Benayas, who has been re-elected for the next three years.
In a meeting held at CaixaForum Madrid aimed at environmental organizations, universities, business companies and institutions, José María Rey highlighted the support of Rewilding Spain to the proposed Law on Nature Restoration of the European Union, currently under discussion. As well, Rey Benayas stated that the recovery of key natural processes, in addition to facilitating the autonomy of ecosystems, “means fresh air that inspires people and helps them reconnect with nature.”
In her first public presentation as new member of the Board of Trustees of Rewilding Spain, Odile Rodríguez de la Fuente stated: “Spain keeps one of the best frameworks to put into practice many of the premises that underpin the objectives of this initiative. A stronger and more biodiverse nature means more opportunities for entrepreneurship and wealth for the landscape. It is an enormous privilege to be able to contribute to Rewilding Spain flourishing as a Spanish initiative, putting our country, once again, at the forefront of sustainability.”
Action on the ground in Iberian Highlands and opportunities for other territories
Three years after the kick-off in 2020, Rewilding Spain Foundation is leading the most ambitious rewilding initiative currently taking place in Spain, Iberian Highlands. As explained by the Team Leader,Pablo Schapira, this is a pioneering plan for ecological restoration and economic development that is being developed in an area of 850,000 hectares located in the provinces of Cuenca, Guadalajara and Teruel. The initiative is being carried out with the collaboration of numerous local and regional entities, in coordination with Rewilding Europe, and has the financial support of the Endangered Landscapes Programme, which is promoted by the Cambridge Conservation Initiative, and Cartier for Nature. Within the framework of this initiative, specific actions are already being carried out to recover natural grazing with horses and tauros, steps are being taken for the reintroduction of key species that have disappeared, such as the black vulture, and the promotion of nature-based economic activities is being facilitated.
Rewilding Spain’s General Manager, Mara Zamora, explained that the Foundation will focus on consolidating the Iberian Highlands initiative on the ground as a benchmark experience and will promote the dissemination of the principles and values of rewilding. In addition, Rewilding Spain has already started exploring new rewilding opportunities in Andalusia, Extremadura, Galicia and Madrid.
In the event held at CaixaForum Madrid, kindly donated by La Caixa Foundation, Deli Saavedra, Head of Landscapes of Rewilding Europe, an international organization that operates on the front line of nature restoration on a European scale, stressed that rewilding is already producing demonstrable benefits for nature and people, helping to create a Europe richer in nature and more resilient to climate change.
Companies can also have a role in the rewilding movement, as stressed by Marco Bolognini, lawyer and member of Board of Trustees. On his side, Jordi Palau who is also member of the Board and the author of most relevant book about rewilding in Spain (Rewilding Iberia. Explorando el potencial de la renaturalización en España) mentioned some of the keys that will allow Spain to embrace rewilding as an essential axis of the relationship between people and ecosystems.
