Coa Valley, Reintroducing Lynx and Rewilding Communally
International rewilding: Portugal's rural Coa Valley has seen decades of depopulation, resulting in the right conditions for natural rewilding, and setting the stage to reintroduce the Iberian Lynx.
As a part of our coverage of rewilding projects of note and urban rewilding, for a while we have wanted to better understand Portugal’s rural Coa Valley. It is a fascinating example of how rewilding can restore nature, community and understanding about new approaches to the biodiversity crisis in a semi-abandoned setting.
Located near the Spanish-Portuguese border, the Greater Coa Valley is picturesquely flanked by the Douro River and Malcata Mountains. This former rich farmlands has seen decades of abandonment, leaving over 300,000 acres of land to be set aside for a new restoration project that is targeting bringing the Iberian Lynx, long absent from the environment, back to one of its natural homes. The project is a fantastic case study for the potential for rewilding projects to revitalise not just abandoned landscapes, but declining communities and local cultures.
