Scientists and experts from a dozen European countries met at the TusnadEcoBear conference in the Carpathian Mountains to exchange experiences, discuss their diverse perspectives and present proposals for the future aimed at improving coexistence between humans and bears.
We were invited to present the actions of the LIFE Bears with a Future and LIFE Human Bear Coex projects, which aroused much interest due to their innovative approach and the exceptional local prominence of the latter. Together with our colleagues María Párraga and Noa González, from the FOP technical team, the CSIC (IMIB-CSIC) scientist José Vicente López-Bao, our scientific advisor in large carnivore conservation and conflict management projects, took part in the conference.
The venue of the conference could not have been more appropriate, as Romania is home to the largest population of brown bears on the European continent. Although the scenario is very different from the bear populations in the Cantabrian and Pyrenees, we were able to learn first-hand about the challenges for coexistence in Romania and study in detail some of the measures that are being implemented: for example, the prevention of access to rubbish with bear-proof containers.
Summaries of the presentations from the conference, which took place from 22-25 October, are available on the conference website: http://tusnadecobear.ro/conf/
The LIFE Bears with Future and LIFE Human Bear Coex projects are co-funded by the European Union.