[1] The group's efforts have contributed to increasing the stock of previously endangered species such as the European bison and the Iberian lynx.
[2] Rewilding Europe was formally established on June 28, 2011, as an independent, non-profit foundation (ANBI status) registered in the Netherlands.
Due to depopulation and land abandonment, there has been a significant decrease in grazing, which has caused natural succession and more plant cover in the landscapes.
The organization claims more "wild" livestock will lead to more diverse "mosaic landscapes", which may improve conditions for populations of roe deer and other species, including some that are extinct in the region, such as the Iberian ibex.
[8] The 580,000-hectare Danube Delta is home to massive amounts of water birds, most notably pelicans of two species, herons, storks, cormorants, and terns.
It is a favourite staging area for passage migrants and wintering grounds for masses of migrating water birds from the steppes, the boreal forests, and the tundras further north.
The area hosts two national parks, a biosphere reserve, several hiking trails, old-growth forests, deep canyons, ancient open lands and wildlife like Balkan chamois, red deer, brown bear, wolf, and lynx.
[19] Wildlife-watching hides are constructed and it is planned that new ones will be built in future to create job opportunities benefiting the local community.
On the Lika Plains, a grassland located in the foothills of the Velebit Mountains, Rewilding Europe is working to reintroduce wild and semi-wild grazers.
[24] Rewilding Europe's main focus is to help vultures and other scavenging species by boosting the availability of wild herbivore carcasses, thereby closing the circle of life.
Together with partners, Rewilding Europe is creating space for natural processes like forest regeneration, free-flowing rivers, herbivory, and carnivory to impact ecosystems.
[25] The Oder Delta region is a unique combination of a rich mosaic of large and wild continental, marine, and freshwater ecosystems in Germany and Poland.
[26] The eventual aim is to restore and safeguard regional nature and to develop alternative, sustainable and nature-friendly models of land, freshwater and sea use with local landowners, entrepreneurs, communities and residents.
The Rewilding Lapland team and partners are working to grow a local nature-based economy and reduce human-wildlife conflict.
[28] [29] The Iberian Highlands rewilding landscape is located in the Alto Tajo Nature Reserve and the Serranía de Cuenca mountains in central Spain, forming an 850,000 hectares (2,100,000 acres) mountainous area consisting of river canyons, steppe prairie, pine, oak, and juniper forests, and farmland.
[30] In September 2023, a herd of ten Przewalski's horses obtained from Monts d'Azur Biological Reserve in France was introduced.
Future introductions are planned to supplement the starting herd's genetic diversity and the species' low rate of reproduction.
Other areas of the park are being used to host semi-wild Serrano horses alongside Tauros cattle, a breed intended to resemble the extinct aurochs.
[30] A proposal has been made to establish a natural park around the gorges formed by the Tagus River, which would prohibit hunting, fishing, and logging but permit traditional agriculture.
ERN forum,[33] open and free to all members, this online platform is used to post questions and information, interact at any time, and view previous webinars on a wide range of rewilding-related topics.
[37] European Investment Bank provided Rewilding Europe Capital with a 6 million euro loan finance contract.
REC achieves this by providing commercial business loans to businesses that can: positively address negative socio-economic impacts caused by rural land abandonment; directly and indirectly support rewilding processes and activities in Europe and to those that deliver economic returns from nature and wildlife-related sectors that also work to conserve natural landscapes, capital, and rural cultures and heritage connected to them.
[48] The overall aim of the project is to strengthen the EU restoration agenda and ensure that specific actions are taken to create a coherent ecological network in Europe, by promoting and using rewilding principles.
Some of the universities with which Rewilding Europe has good connections are Oxford, Cambridge, Leipzig, Madrid, Amsterdam, Zagreb, and Warsaw.