EU Platform on Coexistence between People & Large Carnivores

On 14 June we held our annual EU Platform plenary meeting, which took place in a hybrid format. After two years of not seeing each other, it was a great opportunity to take advantage of the in-person dynamic and platform members benefited from this by reflecting on all that had changed in the previous year and the range of new and reformed policy initiatives. This included an update on the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030, the CAP Strategic Plans and Rural Development programmes as well as the EU nature restoration law.

The Commission’s proposal to restore damaged ecosystems and bring nature back across Europe does not only present a key to avoiding ecosystem collapse but also brings an impetus and chance for us as platform members to continue our joint mission of coexistence between people and large carnivores. The proposals should not be viewed as a threat to agriculture and other land uses but rather as an ambitious goal that if well-designed, can play out in long-term economic terms too –for food security, climate resilience, health, and well-being. Restoration can be about coexistence of people and nature by bringing back more biodiversity rather than excluding economic activities. It is important however, that when restoration measures are planned economic actors are also brought into the discussions – in much the same way we try to do with the platform.

Large carnivores themselves play an ecological role in a healthy ecosystem too. As platform we should continue to use our shared experience, knowledge and expertise surrounding coexistence to start a positive cycle of restoration by living and producing together within healthy ecosystems.

Wishing you happy reading and a lovely summer!

Jurgen Tack

Scientific Director of the European Landowners’ Organization (ELO)

Co-chair of the EU Platform on Coexistence between People and Large Carnivores

The ninth annual meeting of the EU Platform on Coexistence between People and Large Carnivores took place in a hybrid format, in Brussels and by video conference. A range of policy initiatives, relevant to the work of the platform were discussed, including the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030, new LIFE projects, the LIFE EUROLARGECARNIVORES project as well as updates on the CAP Strategic Plans and the Rural Development programmes. Moreover, platform members reviewed activities, undertaken to gather and present information about livestock protection and large carnivores and in an interactive session discussed how the EU Platform and regional platforms can interact and learn from one another.

The presentations and minutes are available on the Platform website.

The inititive to establish a large carnivore platform in the Dinaric region is currently being financed through the German Federal Environment Ministry’s Advisory Assistance Programme (AAP).

The platform consists of representatives from all regional governments who come together to discuss cross border large carnivore management and compare approaches. The first meeting of the Platform was held in Ljubljana, Slovenia 16-17 November. The participants discussed good practice from different regions including presentations on the EU and regional platforms and concrete steps for setting up a platform in the Dinaric region. The second platform meeting took place 15-17 June in Sarajevo. The members discussed the type of agreement needed to back up the platform and the most urgent common actions.

Two thematic meetings have been held in Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia to advance discussions on specific issues such as bear emergency teams.

A background report: Management, Monitoring, Threats and Conflicts - Background Report was written to give an overview of the status quo in the Dinaric countries. More information at dinaric.carnivores@adelphi.de.

26 August (morning), online via Zoom

The cooperation within the framework of the dialogue platform on the subject of wolves in the Lüneburg Heath was concluded in June 2020. In the context of the platform, the topic of herd protection played a particularly important role and some concrete project ideas have emerged. This workshop concludes the work of the platform and focuses on livestock protection measures, including examples from inside and outside the region. It will include a presentation of the state of knowledge on livestock protection, ongoing research on the relationship between wolf and horse and a panel discussion.

3 October (afternoon), Vercors Regional Natural Park, France

In the context of the presence of the wolf, the implementation of protection measures (in particular livestock guarding dogs) can sometimes be conflict-laden. In order to avoid the tension in the relations between concerned actors, the Regional Natural Park of Vercors (PNR-Vercors) has been working together with the EU-financed regional platforms to facilitate a multi-actor working group on the "Protection measures against the wolf (including livestock guarding dogs) and other uses of the territory”. During a number of meetings, the platform participants have identified issues and managed to develop a common narrative. This and a press dossier will be presented at a meeting in collaboration with the EU Platform in October.

The workshops are invitation-only. Minutes will be posted on the website. however if you are directly involved in wolf management in the regions concerned, please contact lcplatform@adelphi.de with an expression of interest.

In June the Commission adopted pioneering proposals to restore damaged ecosystems and bring nature back across Europe, from agricultural land and seas, to forests and urban environments. The proposal for a Nature Restoration Law is a key step in avoiding ecosystem collapse and preventing the worst impacts and scenarios for climate change and biodiversity loss. The law is a key element of the EU Biodiversity Strategy and aims to cover at least 20% of the EU's land and sea areas by 2030 with nature restoration measures, and eventually extend these to all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050.

Therefore, the Nature Restoration Law combines binding restoration targets for specific habitats and species with all-encompassing restoration objectives for the long-term recovery of nature in the EU. In close cooperation with scientists, interested stakeholders and the public, Member States are expected to submit National Restoration Plans to the EC to display how they plan to deliver on those targets. Moreover, Member States will be responsible for monitoring and reporting on their progress. However, in a next step the proposed legislation will be discussed in the European Parliament and Council and needs to be approved by the European Parliament before coming into force.

Notably, nature restoration does not equal nature protection and does not automatically lead to more protected areas. While nature restoration can be necessary in protected areas as well, not all restored areas have to become protected areas. Most of them will not, as restoration does not preclude economic activity. Restoration is about living and producing together with nature by bringing more biodiversity back everywhere – including to the areas where economic activity takes place, for instance in managed forests, on agricultural land and in cities.

The IUCN SSC Steering Committee has appointed the Task Force for Human-Wildlife Conflict as a permanent Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission. The group will now be called “IUCN SSC Human-Wildlife Conflict & Coexistence Specialist Group”. The interdisciplinary advisory group will continue its work to promote links between policy, science and communities and to build knowledge and capacity for human-wildlife conflict management and coexistence. More information can be found here.

The Agri Committee of the European Parliament drafted a motion on livestock protection and wolves. The proposed motion was discussed at the committee meeting in January and amendments were proposed.

For the first time in Europe a predation by a golden jackal (Canis aureus) on a young roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) was captured by a phototrap positioned by Lorenzo Frangini (research fellow at the University of Udine, Italy). Shortly after the predation, the video shows a kleptoparasitism event by the wild boar (Sus scrofa) against the jackal.

Golden jackals have been reported in 33 European countries. In Switzerland, Estonia, Latvia Poland, Denmark, Lithuania, The Netherlands, France, Liechtenstein and Finland golden jackals have been recorded for the first time in the past 10 years.

In March, the four organisations issued a statement on the issues facing the rural sector related to large carnivores and policy requests on how to deal with them. In particular, the statement asks for specific funding for livestock protection.

In order to prevent the brown bear from going extinct in the Pyrenees three bears from Slovenia were introduced to the cross-border region of France and Spain 26 years ago. The population of brown bears in the Pyrenees has increased from 52 individuals in 2018, to 70 in individuals in 2021 (the highest figures in a century). The monitoring is conducted by the EU-backed transborder project LoupO.

The EU Platform website provides a library including a range of publications from different countries.

Even though the concept of ‘coexistence’ has entered the mainstream of conservation science, there is little agreement on a (working) definition of the concept. To this end, the Specialist Group has published a new briefing paper. The briefing addresses the question of what "human-wildlife coexistence" means in the context of human-wildlife and human-human interaction and how it should be managed. This includes the question whether a universal definition is necessary or even appropriate.

As part of the new LIFE project Call 2020, a new large carnivore related project has been funded: LIFE Bear Smart Corridors. The project aims to improve the conservation status of the brown bear in Italy (subspecies: Ursus arctos marsicanus) and Greece (Ursus arctos) in six previously identified bear expansion corridors, by developing 18 Bear Smart Communities.

The intergroup to which ELO and FACE provide the Secretariat, organised an webinar on 28 June on livestock farming and large carnivores in Europe. The event was hosted by MEP Simone Schmiedtbauer, with a keynote speech by Nicola Notaro (Head of Nature Protection Unit, DG Env). The webinar aimed to bring together a diversity of stakeholders to discuss perspectives for large carnivores and livestock farming in Europe. A recording can be viewed here.

The International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA) is aiming to establish a network of shepherding organisations across the Alps. At an online conference on 27 January on the topic: Building an Alpine-wide web of shepherding organisations, the EU Platform Secretariat presented the Platform’s work on CAP and Rural Development. The meeting documentation available online.

The well-attended online conference on March 16 was used to present some of the outputs of the LIFE project and discuss upcoming challenges for large carnivore coexistence. Speakers included Martin Hojsík (MEP) and Humberto Delgado Rosa, Director “Biodiversity”, European Commission Directorate-General for Environment and platform members such as David Scallan from FACE. The conference documentation and recording are available online.

On 2 March the Secretariat gave a presentation on large carnivore coexistence and the role of platforms at an international Online-Conference for biodiversity “A bridge over troubled water” organised by Jutta Paulus MEP to spread the word about the International Biodiversity Conference in Kunming China.

The seminar with the theme ‘From Conflicts to Coexistence – New Tools for Human-Wildlife Conflict’ will take place between 15 and 16 November 2022 in Espoo, Finland. The seminar-workshop aims to increase the awareness of case studies and experiences gained during the project and to further facilitate national level discussion on how LIFE BOREALWOLF can provide tools for the conflict management. Registration is available here.

This conference, which was originally planned for April 2020, will now take place from 30 March – 1 April 2023 in Oxford, UK. It aims at enhancing dialogue and collaboration on human-wildlife conflicts across sectors and disciplines as a global priority in biodiversity conservation, and at promoting ways to reduce and manage these conflicts. Members of the EU Platform and the Secretariat will participate in the exchange and present the work carried out during the previous year addressing regional stakeholder platforms, their members’ interactions and expectations in the context of promoting coexistence.

The Pathways Europe conference will take place from 19-21 October 2022 at Wageningen University, Netherlands, with the theme of ‘sharing landscapes’. The conference is hosted by the Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources at Colorado State University and the Cultural Geography Group at Wageningen University and Research. Registration is available online.

Livestock grazing is a particularly nature-compatible form of land use and has a strong tradition as a form of landscape management. The return of the wolf in Germany however, presents a new challenge for grazing livestock farmers. Most attacks by wolves on livestock tend to occur where wolves are establishing themselves in new areas. Here knowledge about the professional use of preventive measures was not yet necessary while livestock owners have not yet become accustomed to their presence. Thus, the DVL run project aims to improve protection of grazing livestock to prevent wolf attacks on animals by informing and supporting grazing livestock owners so that they can assess risks and take precautionary measures.

More specifically, DVL has established a series of online trainings with experts and practitioners from demonstration farms educating about preventive measures as well as communication issues. Moreover, conferences and expert workshops regarding specific challenges of livestock protection measures and advice activities have been facilitated. All offers have been very well received by participants. Surveys reveal that DVL was able to create factual and solution-oriented discussions and training.

Besides several planned publications, the project will provide five explanatory short video clips to raise awareness of basic as well as challenging aspects of livestock protection measures.

Further information about this case study is available here. DVL also provides a newsletter informing about events, workshops and news surrounding grazing livestock protection.

The Frequently Asked Questions section of the EU Platform website provides a list of common questions which come up regarding the presence of large carnivores in Europe. Here we select one to present in the newsletter, but further questions and answers can be viewed online.

What is the “utility” of large carnivores in nature?

Large carnivores are predators and are therefore at the top of the trophic pyramid of the ecosystem. They thus play a crucial regulatory role over ungulate populations, balancing the overall function of natural ecosystems. Some large carnivores are also scavengers (i.e. wolverine) and therefore also play a sanitary role in the ecosystem. Furthermore, omnivorous large carnivore species (i.e. brown bear), contribute through their diet cycle to plants and fruits seeds dispersal thus enhancing the vegetation structure and diversity in a given ecosystem.

Several published studies from over a 50-year time span, and analyses of the composition of large predator guilds (species exploiting a particular resource) and prey densities in boreal and temperate forests showed that predation by large carnivores, especially wolves and bears, with overlapping ranges, apparently limits densities of large herbivores. In areas with wolves, herbivore density increased only slightly with increasing productivity. These predator effects are consistent with the exploitation ecosystems hypothesis and appear to occur across a broad range of net primary productivities. Results are also consistent with theory on trophic cascades, suggesting widespread and top-down forcing by large carnivores on large herbivores in forest biomes across the northern hemisphere. These findings have important conservation implications involving not only the management of large carnivores but also that of large herbivores and plant communities.