Central Apennines
Reviving wildlife, rivers and forests across the Central Apennines.
The Central Apennines span approximately 800,000 hectares of forests, mountain grasslands and river catchments in the heart of Italy. The landscape encompasses 74 Natura 2000 sites and eight critical ecological and coexistence corridors linking the region’s largest protected areas. It is home to iconic species such as the Apennine brown bear and griffon vulture, while the Aterno-Pescara, Liri and Sangro river systems offer significant opportunities for watershed-scale restoration.
Despite its ecological importance, habitat fragmentation, declining ecological connectivity and ongoing pressures on natural systems continue to limit wildlife recovery across the landscape.
Strengthening coexistence between people and wildlife and restoring ecological processes at scale are essential to securing a resilient future for nature and local communities.
Since 2018, Rewilding Apennines, Rewilding Europe and their partners have laid the foundations for large-scale restoration across the region. Building on strong partnerships, an experienced local team and proven results on the ground, this project will accelerate forest, grassland and wetland restoration, reconnect habitats, and support the recovery of wildlife populations across the Central Apennines.
Central Apennines, Italy
Rewilding Apennines / Rewilding Europe
Ongoing since 2026
$5 million USD
525,000 ha
Freshwater habitat, forested-mountain habitat and old-growth forests, high-altitude prairies habitat, grasslands
Marsican brown bear, Apennines chamois, Griffon vulture, Cinereous vulture, white-clawed crayfish, Mediterranean trout, Orsini viper
Biomass, fresh water, genetic resources, air quality regulation, water purification, water regulation, erosion regulation, climate regulation, soil formation, pollination, disease regulation, primary production and nutrient cycling, aesthetic values, cultural diversity, recreation and ecotourism, knowledge systems and educational values, and other cultural outputs
Why this place matters
This landscape provides habitat for large carnivores like the Apennines brown bear.
The Central Apennines rewilding landscape covers 525,000 hectares in the heart of Italy, connecting 74 Natura 2000 sites and encompassing the core range of the Apennine brown bear and griffon vulture. With most of the land in public ownership, it offers exceptional potential for large-scale ecological restoration.
Decades of river regulation and hydropower development have degraded freshwater ecosystems, while recovering but heavily managed forests remain less resilient than they could be. At the same time, increasing interactions between people and wildlife create growing coexistence challenges across the landscape.
Rewilding Europe and Rewilding Apennines are already demonstrating successful approaches to river restoration, forest recovery, natural grazing and human-wildlife coexistence. Building on these achievements, the project will restore ecological processes, strengthen connectivity and support thriving wildlife and resilient communities across the Central Apennines.
Action on the ground
The project is restoring freshwater ecosystems and terrestrial habitats, while also rebuilding trophic networks and scaling up human wildlife coexistence.
Rewetting 30 hectares of land, reconnecting 30 km of the Aterno-Pescara, Sangro and Liri-Garigliano Rivers, and reintroducing white-clawed crayfish and Mediterranean trout in currently unoccupied rivers.
Strengthening local pride in the region’s wildlife, establishing a Central Apennines Rewilding Centre for community engagement, partnerships and visibility, and fostering active advocacy for rewilding and coexistence.
Growing a Business Coexistence Network of 30 nature-based enterprises.
Expanding ecotourism across ecological corridors, engaging local farmers through a dedicated volunteering programme, and piloting a viable nature credits model for rewilding farmers.
of grasslands being placed under natural grazing regimes, preserving 1,300 hectares of old-growth forest, removing obsolete fragmentation fences and improving road crossing structures for wildlife.
Rebuilding trophic networks by restocking griffon vultures, identifying hatching sites for bearded vultures, reintroducing Apennine chamois in the Velino Mountain Range and updating the species’ Action Plan.
Scaling up human-wildlife coexistence by expanding the conflict prevention network to 110+ farms and communities, and rolling out the Bear-Smart Community model into Wildlife-Smart Communities across 8 corridors covering 275,000 hectares.
Visit the Rewilding Apennines website
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