Sweeping forests and river canyons

A 500-kilometre mountain range linking the Cantabrian Mountains with the Mediterranean regions of central-eastern Spain.

Rising as a series of elevated plateaus and ridges, the area boasts a mosaic of ecosystems: sweeping pine, oak, and juniper forests, open steppe landscapes, and dramatic river canyons.

Iberian Highlands | Spain

More than half of the 850,000-hectare Iberian Highlands rewilding landscape is protected - mainly as Natura 2000 sites. This sparsely populated area sits at a crossroads of competing climates, with dynamic and diverse habitats that have become a sanctuary for a wide range of wildlife species. These include thriving populations of raptors such as Bonelli's eagles, peregrine falcons, and eagle owls.

The Iberian Highlands span the two autonomous communities of Castilla-La Mancha and Aragón, where for decades large numbers of people have left seeking better economic opportunities elsewhere. This rural depopulation has encouraged the comeback of deer, wild boar, mouflon, and small groups of Iberian ibex, and led to an abundance of Egyptian and griffon vultures. But the top predators – Iberian lynx, Iberian wolves, and brown bears – are currently absent.

Rewilding vision

In the rugged folds of the Iberian Highlands a quiet revolution is unfolding. Once-fragmented food webs are being stitched back together. Scavengers such as cinereous vultures and bearded vultures are returning, carrying bones, consuming carcasses, and restoring nature's age-old cycle of decay and renewal.

The Iberian lynx has been reintroduced and is recolonising the landscape, helping to re-balance local food webs. At the same time, the return of large wild herbivores is reshaping ecosystems through natural grazing. Tauros, wild horses, and reintroduced Iberian ibex are helping to regenerate grasslands previously degraded by overgrowth and wildfire, enhancing biodiversity and strengthening natural resilience and improve habitats in more arid areas for a variety of steppe bird species.

People are central to this vision too. Local communities, long affected by rural depopulation and economic decline, are embracing the new opportunities offered by nature recovery. Activities such as nature-based tourism and wildlife watching are generating new income and livelihoods, reinforcing pride in local nature and culture.

Do you want to know more about Rewilding Europe's efforts to make Iberian Highlands a wilder place?

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