Pinhel, Portugal, Aug. 22, 2025 (Lusa) - Rewilding Portugal is promoting a crowdfunding campaign to support the recovery of the Ermo das Águias natural regeneration area and local partners who were affected by the fire that broke out on Wednesday in Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo.
"The fire that broke out in Cinco Vilas spread to the neighbouring municipality of Pinhel, reaching the Ermo das Águias rewilding area managed by Rewilding Portugal. The fire consumed around 300 hectares of vegetation, including areas in the process of ecological restoration," said the environmental NGO (Non-Governmental Organisation), which is based in Guarda, in a statement sent to the Lusa news agency.
Rewilding Portugal said that despite the extent of the fire, "all the animals that inhabit the area are safe, including the various herds of Sorraia and Tauros horses that contribute to the natural management of the territory" in that part of the Greater Côa Valley.
Ermo das Águias is located in Vale de Madeira, in the municipality of Pinhel, and has been home to semi-wild herbivores since 2022, such as Tauros - a bovine that resembles the extinct aurochs - and Sorraia horses, an indigenous Portuguese breed.
These animals play a fundamental role in maintaining mosaic landscapes, being natural herbivores and great allies in protecting biodiversity, including fire prevention, due to their role in managing and controlling the biomass present in the landscape.
"In addition to the direct impact on Ermo das Águias, many Rewilding Portugal partners were also affected, including beekeepers, farmers and other local initiatives, with significant losses to land, apiaries, irrigation systems, machinery and plantations," said the nature conservation organisation.
With this in mind, Rewilding Portugal has launched a crowdfunding campaign to finance post-fire recovery and restoration in Ermo das Águias, but also to support affected partners and implement preventative measures that "increase the landscape's resilience to extreme phenomena".
The campaign is available at https://gofund.me/1a69a893.
Pedro Prata, head of Rewilding Portugal, emphasised that this initiative aims to "speed up a rapid post-fire response, for the benefit of the partners and biodiversity" in the Greater Côa Valley.
According to the official, quoted in the press release, this year's fires are part of a worrying trend.
"This situation was already foreseeable, given the climate we've faced since the winter. Even so, we are breaking records for ignitions and area burnt. This is a new reality that we have to deal with due to climate change."
LYM/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
