The year begins, and at the Brown Bear Foundation (FOP), we are facing the final stretch of our LIFE ‘Bears with a Future’ project — a project through which we are contributing to improve the adaptability of the brown bear to climate change in the Cantabrian Mountains. A new climate scenario reminds us of the urgent need to adapt food resources, whether by planting trees at higher altitudes or promoting chestnut tree plantations.
Global warming is already causing changes in how these animals hibernate. With rising temperatures and milder winters, hibernation periods will shorten — or may even disappear entirely. Temperature has a greater influence on these rest periods than food availability in the forests, which increases the likelihood of encounters and interactions between bears and people, both in the mountains and in populated areas.
Another threat the project addresses is the growing number of wildfires in the mountains of the Cantabrian range — the area with the highest frequency of wildfires in Spain and Europe, and with the largest burned surfaces in proportion. Rising temperatures are also making these fires increasingly intense and destructive year after year.
Tackling this problem is a challenge, and our project approaches it with clear, specific objectives. First, by improving the availability of food through the planting and maintenance of small forest of native trees that serve as bear food sources, such as the chestnut tree (Castanea sativa), wild cherry (Prunus avium), and crab apple (Malus sylvestris).
Another key focus is providing information to people engaging in outdoor activities in bear habitats — especially in winter — to help avoid potential encounters with bears. Finally, we believe it is essential to complete the circle of actions by sharing our results and lessons learned with managers and users of other natural areas where bears are present, both within Spain and abroad.
Through the LIFE ‘Bears with a Future’ project, co-funded by the LIFE Programme, we aim to raise awareness of the serious threats facing our extraordinary biodiversity. The project is supported by partners such as Fundación Biodiversidad and Fundación Patrimonio Natural of Castile and León, as well as by collaborators like the Government of the Principality of Asturias and Fundación Tierra Pura.
Brown bear in winter. Cantabrian Mountains / Photo FOP