Rewilding Europe celebrated its 10th anniversary, marking a decade of progress that has thrust rewilding to the forefront of European conservation efforts. 

The Netherlands-based non-profit organization works in eight large-scale projects across Europe, from Swedish Lapland in the North to the Danube Delta in the south, covering some 23,000 square kilometers of land. It has reintroduced a variety of species, some of which were endangered, including European bison, the Tauros and the kulan. 

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The group expects the scope and scale of its work to continue, boosted by the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, an initiative that runs to 2030 with the stated aim to restore degraded and destroyed ecosystems. 

A part of the organization's work has been collaborating with local businesses and communities, promoting the idea that an increase in wildlife can support nature-based economies. 

In 10 years they have distributed around $2.7 million worth of loans to nature-based enterprises.  

"When the four co-founders of Rewilding Europe came together, their mission was to create an entirely new conservation paradigm based on rewilding," Rewilding Europe's Managing Director Frans Schepers said. 

"Despite many challenges and lessons learnt along the way, the past 10 years have seen us take great strides towards achieving this objective. We're not there yet, and this is certainly not the time to rest on our laurels, but I'm very proud of the way Rewilding Europe and its influence and impact have developed."

Some of its achievements: 

- Establishing wildlife corridors and grazing "fire brigades" in Portugal's Coa Valley. 

- Reestablishing the European Bison in the Romania Southern Carpathian mountains. 

- Developing a nature-tourism destination in Bulgaria's Rhodope Mountains. 

- Boosting brown bear numbers in the Central Apennines, Italy.