The actions of the LIFE Bears with Future project have aroused great interest among visitors to the Castilla y León Ecotourism Fair, Naturcyl, which this year has held its fifth edition between September 23rd and 25th at its usual venue, the town Ruesga, in the Palencia Mountains.
This is an area of special interest for LIFE Bears with Future, as it is home to a large part of the bear population of the eastern Cantabrian Mountains and is a growing focus of attraction for hikers and other users of leisure activities in the mountains. For this reason, information has been offered on the recommendations for touring these mountains, emphasizing that they are also applicable in winter, due to the impact of climate change on the progressive reduction of bear hibernation.
Begoña Almeida, member of the Eastern Cantabrian Bear Patrol, offers information to visitors to the Naturcyl Fair at the stand of the Fundación Oso Pardo
The stand of the Oso Pardo Foundation has also offered information on the forestry work and plantations that are carried out in the LIFE project in climate change scenarios:
- Plantation of fruit trees to increase trophic availability for bears
- Plantation of native chestnut varieties to increase trophic availability for bears
- Restoration and treatment of chestnut forests to increase fruit production and climate resilience.
A coordinated project
The “Bears with Future” Project, co-financed by the European Union LIFE Project, will be carried out until 2025. It is coordinated by the Brown Bear Foundation in partnership with the Biodiversity Foundation (Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge), and the Natural heritage Foundation of the Castilla y León regional government. The Government of Asturias is co-financer, via the Directorate General for the Environment and Rural Planning, of the Department of Rural Development, Agriculture and Fisheries. Tierra Pura Foundation collaborates technically and co-finances the project.