The Platform’s annual plenary meeting 8 June, was well attended by the platform core members, stakeholder representatives in Brussels, and Commission officials from DG ENV and AGRI. But also by a range of regional and local representatives, linked to the platform activities through regional to local platforms. We heard, for example, from the president of Harghita County, Romania on the current situation regarding bears, from the first Vice President of the Regional Natural Park of Vercors on the stakeholder collaboration within the Park to raise awareness around sharing a territory with wolves, people and livestock guarding dogs and from the Swedish Platform facilitator on plans to use the regional platform approach in a wider area, and potentially tackling broader topic areas. A presentation from the newly launched Land Care Europe also demonstrated how a similar multi-stakeholder collaborative approach can bring agricultural, landscape and nature protection actors closer together, demonstrating that they do have common interests.

 Current debates over the proposed Nature Restoration and Sustainable Use of pesticides laws suggest that conflicts around land use and biodiversity protection are not exactly decreasing. We can, however, at least be reassured, especially with the example from the Regional Platforms that when we examine the situation closer to the ground, collaboration also remains possible, despite people starting with very different viewpoints.

Jurgen Tack

Scientific Director of the European Landowners’ Organization (ELO)

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