PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The Romanian Carpathians are the home to a stable population of brown bear (Ursus arctos), which represents around 35% of the total number of brown bears in Europe. With more than 6 000 individuals, this area supports nearly the entire bear population in Romania – only the Apuseni Mountains is home to another bear group with 250-300 individuals. However, brown bears in Romania face several threats, including habitat fragmentation due to new infrastructure. The area around Brasov, for example, is extremely important for the country’s road infrastructure and cuts through bear habitat.
OBJECTIVES
The LIFE FOR BEAR project aimed to protect the entire bear population in the Romanian Carpathians. Although parts of the Apuseni Mountains in Western Romania were not included, the migration corridor between the Carpathian and the Apuseni Mountains was included in the project area. The project area encompasses about 30% of Romania’s total land surface.
The LIFE FOR BEAR project’s specific objectives were to:
- Update the brown bear population management plan in Romania, taking into account the new socio-economic environment;
- Enhance the brown bear’s conservation status in the area of Braşov-Valea Prahovei;
- Optimise waste management activities, in order to reduce the human-bear conflicts in the Braşov-Valea Prahovei area;
- Develop innovative techniques for bear population management and conservation, and for transferring good practice techniques to the stakeholders; and
- Improve local and national stakeholders’ attitudes towards conserving the brown bear population and promote Nature 2000 network objectives.
RESULTS
The LIFE FOR BEAR project helped improve cooperation among local, regional and national stakeholders on bear conflict prevention, while increasing awareness of the ecological importance of bears and the need to implement concrete protection measures for the species through a range of communication actions.
The project contributed to the increased safety of at least five local communities of the project area, which are often confronted with bear attacks. It provided technical support on managing human-bear coexistence to 17 local administrations in the Romanian counties of Brasov, Prahova and Dambovita and helped prevent conflicts in these counties. Furthermore, members, especially farmers, of 20 communities benefited from prevention measures, including the installation of electric fences and the adaption of waste management. Fewer bear attacks and less damage to crops and orchards are now reported, while hunting fund managers that carry out bear interventions have their costs reimbursed by local authorities. These costs are in turn covered by the Ministry of the Environment under legislation enacted during the project.
The project created and trained teams of specialists who assess bear conflict situations and also an intervention team which covered the project area that included 5 Natura 2000 sites that the project targeted (located in the central Carpathians). These teams, which are supported by the Ministry of the Environment, had a key role in the project implementation and continue to operate after the end of the project. The project has made a major contribution to the creation of a legal framework for immediate intervention to prevent and combat the attacks of brown bear specimens on people and their property (Ordonanta/Ordinance 81 of 2021).
Bear conflicts were also reduced by 25% in the Prahova valley area by increasing the natural food supply of the species: specific species were planted over/on 26ha of forested area and 400 anthills were moved/enlarged near the known conflict areas. Furthermore, the project team created practical guidebooks on all the prevention measures and main actions taken by the project, which are available on the project website.
The studies and assessments carried out within the project also contributed to a better understanding of the current situation when it comes to the bear habitat status and human-bear conflicts in Romania. The conservation status of the brown bear in the project area was assessed as favourable, both before and at the end of the project. The revision of the National Action Plan for Bear (approved in 2018) and the elaboration of a management plan for this species are also essential for its future conservation. A project funded by EU structural funds is already implementing the National Action Plan.
The main goal proposed for the long term management of the brown bear species is the conservation of the brown bear population in Romania, maintaining the size of the bear population at a level that ensures a good coexistence with the human population.
Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Conservation Plan (see "Read more" section).
