Rewilding Portugal Opens Path to Perpetual Protection of Properties for Ecological Restoration

Rewilding Portugal announced it had taken a pioneering step in the legal protection of nature in Portugal by using, for the first time, surface rights as a legal tool to ensure that a private property could be destined, in perpetuity, for ecological restoration. The first agreement of this kind was signed and registered following a collaboration between the organization and private landowners. Surface rights allow land to remain in private hands while its surface is granted for a specific purpose, in this case ecological recovery, guaranteeing that the land cannot be used for other purposes in the future. This innovative approach creates a protection mechanism that goes beyond traditional conservation tools, allowing private individuals to actively participate in biodiversity protection without losing ownership of the land. The initiative represents a model that can be replicated in other regions of the country, opening the way for more landowners to grant their land for ecological restoration with the guarantee that the preservation intent will be maintained indefinitely.