Conservation

We Protect and Restore Europe’s Wild Areas

The European Nature Trust supports the most effective conservation organisations across Europe to deliver a shared vision of a wilder continent. Through our work, we help people reconnect with the natural systems on which we depend.

A Lasting Impact

The European Nature Trust was founded in 2000 by Paul Lister, a passionate conservationist determined to invigorate the wildlife of our continent. After years in the family furniture business and the sudden ill health of his father, Paul had an awakening; he saw the damage that had occurred across the Scottish ecosystem, and launched a mission of rejuvenation. In 2003, he purchased Alladale Wilderness Reserve in the heart of the Scottish Highlands, now the focus of a pioneering rewilding and ecotourism initiative.

Paul’s vision of restored nature has extended across the continent. At The European Nature Trust, we are working to preserve the wild areas that remain, and restore those that have been lost.

Philosophy

Our conservation philosophy:

We believe that naturally-functioning ecosystems are essential; that herbivores, carnivores, scavengers, and all the agents in between, must be afforded the space and resources they need to thrive.
When natural processes are free to shape the landscape, Europe can become a wilder, healthier place. Crucially, we as humans must reconnect with nature, recognise its benefits, and coexist with wild species.

Our Conservation Work

From the Scottish Highlands, to the snow-topped mountains of Romania's Carpathians and beyond,
we support a network of conservation projects across Europe.