PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus) is a subspecies of grey wolf found in north-west Spain and northern Portugal. Its prey includes both game species and livestock. This is a source of conflict with those who make a living from these animals. Minimising wolf-human conflicts is a necessary condition for the conservation of the Iberian wolf, which is categorised as “near threatened” by the IUCN.
This project focuses on the Iberian wolf’s southernmost distribution area: The central-eastern area of the Sierra Morena mountain range in Andalusia. The wolf population of this area is “unfavourable bad with negative trends”, according to the most recent conservation status assessment under Article 17 of the EU Habitats Directive, with only 42-49 individuals remaining. Here, large private estates are used for game hunting, leading to conflicts of interest between landowners, game wardens and the wolf population.
OBJECTIVES
The main objective of the LIFE SOUTHERN WOLVES project was to improve the coexistence of the Iberian wolf population with key economic activities in Andalusia, thereby improving its conservation status. To this end, the following specific objectives were proposed:
- Changing the negative perception of some game wardens, game reserve managers and owners in the Sierra Morena area;
- Raising the awareness of local rural populations of the issues relating to the conservation of the Iberian wolf and promoting a more positive image of the animal. By increasing awareness, in particular among those working in the game and livestock sectors, it is hoped to increase acceptance of the wolf by restoring its former cultural meaning and acceptance;
- Assessing the attitude of the local population towards the Iberian wolf; and
- Raising awareness of the added value the Iberian wolf can bring to the rural economy.
RESULTS
LIFE SOUTHERN WOLVES modified the negative perception of wolves among game wardens, managers and owners of hunting estates located in Sierra Morena (Spain).
The project’s training and mediation activities enabled the gathering of the opinions and perceptions from all sectors involved in the management of the wolf. More than 280 estates were visited and more than 340 people interviewed, including landowners, administrators, gamekeepers and livestock farmers. This work was continued during more than 80 visits to hunting sites, and in the 7 training courses for hunters. In short, all these awareness-raising activities have succeeded in bringing the message of the project to more than 3 500 people.
In addition, the project team carried out an important awareness-raising campaign targeting the general population of rural municipalities, which will contribute to the objective of human-wolf coexistence. They organised 64 workshops, and have reached almost 3 000 people, mainly from the education sector (students and teachers). More than 800 surveys were carried out, which gathered knowledge about the attitude of the rural population towards the wolf.
The project team improved the information and knowledge available about the wolf in Sierra Morena. Among other materials, they published a manual on good management practices in wolf areas, and compiled more than 240 scientific and technical articles on the wolf in Andalusia. Moreover, more than 44 elements of historical heritage linked to the wolf were characterised and inventoried, and more than 20 people who have lived in close proximity with wolves in the past were interviewed. This enabled two tourist routes linked to this heritage to be established and marked, which will contribute to the inhabitants of this region acquiring a sense of belonging to a very characteristic area and a sense of ownership of the presence of such an emblematic species.
The project team also helped disseminate the benefits that this species can bring to the region, and above all promoted the establishment of measures to make human activities compatible with the presence of the wolf.
