On 1 April, the CESAM/DBIO team — composed of researcher Rita Tinoco Torres, Eduardo Ferreira (postdoctoral fellow), Nuno Pinto (senior technician), and Dário Hipólito (PhD student) — took part in a working meeting held in Vila Real, organised by the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF). The meeting focused on analysing and defining key measures to be implemented to improve the conservation status of the Iberian wolf in Portugal, under the scope of the Alcateia Programme 2025–2035.
The team members participated in several sectoral meetings, actively engaging and contributing, together with representatives from various sectors, to the development of the Alcateia Programme. Their involvement aimed to safeguard the interests of all stakeholders and promote coexistence between the Iberian wolf and human communities across the species’ distribution range.
This participation aligns with the ongoing work of the Wildlife Unit (CESAM/DBIO) in monitoring, conservation, and research projects focused on the Iberian wolf — notably the long-term Monitoring of the Iberian Wolf South of the Douro (ACHLI), which has been running continuously for 13 years, as well as recent involvement in the National Iberian Wolf Census (2019–2021), and the LIFE WOLFLUX and LIFE LUPI-LYNX projects.
During the session, the results of the 2019–2021 National Iberian Wolf Census were also presented, along with an update on the implementation of the operational objectives of the Action Plan for the Conservation of the Iberian Wolf in Portugal (PACLobo).
The Ministry of Environment and Energy identified the need to define a new cycle of targeted measures aimed at achieving a favourable conservation status for the Iberian wolf population in Portugal, over a 10-year horizon. Funding is expected to be allocated to initiatives and projects during this period, within the framework of the Alcateia Programme 2025–2035.