Structure and dynamics of conflicts with large carnivores in the Ukrainian Carpathians

22-23 October 2024 Romania III. TusnadEcoBear Conference Contacts Organiser: István Imecs E-mail: [email protected] Scientific coordinators: Cristian-Remus Papp, PhD E-mail: [email protected] Nándor Erős, PhD Student E-mail: [email protected] Moderator: Radu Pircă E-mail: [email protected] Edited by: Nándor Erős E-mail: [email protected] Revised by: Members of TusnadEcoBear Team III. TusnadEcoBear Conference 22 - 23 October 2024 Băile Tușnad, Romania 2 Welcome Address A conference about people and bears, about coexistence. The aim of the conference is to bring together a variety of views, competences and experiences from various experts from Europe and beyond, on the topic of human-large carnivore coexistence. The discussions shall foster the generation of practical and viable solutions for reducing human-wildlife conflicts in human dominated landscapes. The conference seeks to identify the current level of knowledge regarding the management of brown bear populations across Europe, as well as best and negative practices. The interaction between key international experts and young participants is highly encouraged in order to build capacity in terms of coping with future challenges (including the ones derived from climate change). The conference is organised as part of the CERV project (101146879) ”Coexisting with bears - Conservation needs Conversation!” funded by the European Union and implemented with the support of the ProjectBag Association (Destination Management Unit - Băile Tușnad and Surroundings), Mayor’s Office of Băile Tușnad and WWF-Romania. The conference is supported by the Nature FIRST project (101060954), which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program. Respectfully, TusnadEcoBear Team 3 Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV) Coexisting with bears Conservation needs Conversation! CERV COEXISTENCE – PROJECT SUMMARY Across EU member states, large-carnivore management is becoming increasingly challenging as both human safety and the conservation of wildlife populations have to be considered. There is a lack of a clear long-term vision for achieving and maintaining coexistence between humans and bears in many Eastern European countries, where human-bear conflicts are frequent. Rural communities are those actually affected and often ignored by the state authorities and other relevant stakeholders when it comes to establishing and implementing coexistence management plans. Therefore this project aims to foster participatory decision-making and collaborative management among the key stakeholders from 3 pilot countries (Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary) under the umbrella of academic knowledge and guidance (Austria) while promoting and ensuring active community engagement (local/regional community and general public) to provide guidelines for sustainable coexistence plans that go beyond changing political positions of local and state authorities. Thus, the project seeks to foster a sense of ownership and shared responsibility for brown bear conservation. Special attention will be paid to youth education and engagement to increase understanding, knowledge about human-bear conflict and the species management, while building empathy and support for bears in the upcoming decision-making generation. At present, policy debates and decision-making processes around coexistence with bears are conducted with a poor share of democratic/intercultural competence in traditionally patriarchal societies, thus the project targets the pro-active participation of marginalized groups such as women and ethnic and religious minorities. Lessons learned and best practices will be shared at the national and European levels and it will make sure that activities implemented remain operative and efficient after the project ends. This project contributes substantially to the implementation of EU and national policies. ă ș Forensic Intelligence and Remote Sensing Technologies for nature conservation Nature FIRST is a Research and Innovation (RIA) from HORIZON - CL6 - 2021 - BIODIV - 01 - 02 Call (grant agreement number: 101060954) that has received €4 538 348.75 EU Contribution. 1 Nature FIRST focuses on biodiversity monitoring, tackling key challenges such as 1) enabling near realtime monitoring, 2) detecting changes and trends early, and 3) turning predictions into timely, actionable interventions. We achieve this by combining remote sensing technologies (both satellite-based and on-site) with environmental forensics, which extracts insights from field evidence. This helps us uncover cause-effect relations and prevent wildlife and environmental crimes. By integrating these sciences into digital twins— virtual copies of ecosystems—we shift from periodic mapping to real-time monitoring, enabling proactive interventions based on forecasted trends. We are testing this approach in four nature reserves across five countries: Ancares-Courel (Spain), Danube Delta (Romania), Maramures Transboundary Area (Romania/Ukraine), and Stara Planina Mountain (Bulgaria). These sites, home to vulnerable species like bears and wolves and iconic species like pelicans and sturgeons, face common challenges such as habitat loss, fires, human-wildlife conflicts, and poaching. Nature FIRST is pioneering the use of digital twin technology for conservation. Our solutions are available early in the project, and we encourage Natura 2000 managers, researchers, policy-makers, and other stakeholders to reach out for more information. In alignment with the Tusnad EcoBear Conference, which addresses human-large carnivore coexistence, Nature FIRST supports this event to strengthen conservation efforts and promote strategies for reducing human-wildlife conflicts. Learn more about the project on our website: https://www.naturefirst.info/ Program Monday – 21 October 18:00 Welcome 18:00 - 19:30 Documentary - Bears Uncovered: Crisis Discussion with the director: Ovidiu Stancu Tuesday – 22 October 8:00 - 09:30 Registration 09:30 - 10:00 Conference opening and introduction (EN/RO) Session 1 – Fostering ecological connectivity 10:00 - 10:25 Cristian Papp: Can ecological connectivity support human-large carnivore coexistence? 10:25 - 10:50 Ancuța Fedorca: IUCN-WCPA Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group: A global network dedicated to ecological connectivity 10:50 - 11:05 Marius Costin Nistorescu: Bears don’t cross here 11:05 - 11:20 László Demeter: Spatial coverage of the Natura 2000 network and site management effects on bear conservation in the Eastern Carpathians Session 2 – Wildlife forensics 11:20 - 11:50 Claire Gwinnett: Sherlock Holmes and the Bear Poaching Case 11:50 - 12:30 Coffee break Session 3 – Integrating technology in conflict reduction 12:30 - 13:00 Boris Hinojo: Habitat mapping and its contribution to human-bear coexistence in the Băile Tușnad region, Romania 13:00 - 13:20 Jan Kees Schakel: Caught in the Camera Trap: Navigating the myriad of options 13:20 - 13:35 Cosmin-Andrei Conțu: RO-BEAR: Monitor and report bear sightings 13:35 - 13:50 Albin Ahmeti: A species conservation simulation system based on knowledge graph for brown bear movement prediction 13:50 - 14:05 Jan Kees Schakel: Bear Habitat Suitability Maps: Introduction of a novel and costeffective mapping approach 14:05 - 15:30 Lunch break 6 Session 3A – Developing bear-smart communities 15:30 - 16:00 Michal Haring: Bear resistant solutions in Slovakia 16:00 - 16:15 Alexandra Sallay-Moșoi: Technical overview of the bear-smart community of Băile Tușnad, Romania 16:15 - 16:30 Robin Rigg: Sharing knowledge and experience of living with bears 16:30 - 16:45 Mihai I. Pop: Bear in Mind the System. Policy vs. Politics in Romania 16:45 - 17:00 Levente Dósa: Human and bear interaction on the Csomád volcano. A brief history and 2024 follow up 17:00 - 17:15 Júlia Janka Faller: Assessing market dynamics and financial constraints in relation to datadriven biodiversity monitoring: Insights from the Horizon Europe Nature FIRST Project 17:15 - 17:30 Cristian Valeriu Maloș: Coexistence through sustainable outdoor activities Session 4 – Posters 17:30 - 17:40 María Párraga: Improving key food resources and preventing winter conflicts for Cantabrian brown bear under climate change scenarios 17:40 - 17:50 Ilya Acosta-Pankov: Human-bear conflict recorded with the Cluey app in a pilot site: A preliminary study on the brown bear (Ursus arctos) in Bulgaria 17:50 - 18:00 Vladimir Todorov: Human disturbance to the brown bear (Ursus arctos) winter dens 18:00 - 19:30 Panel discussion - From Conflict to Coexistence: The Role of advanced technology in preventing human-wildlife conflicts 19:30 Reception and wine-tasting with Somelier Robert-Claudiu Bentea Wednesday – 23 October 8:00 - 09:30 Registration Session 3B – Developing bear-smart communities 09:30 - 10:00 Anna Davison: The human-bear conflict radar: a digital twin to monitor and predict conflicts with brown bear (Ursus arctos) in Bulgaria 10:00 - 10:15 Aleksandar Dutsov: Human-bear conflict in a depopulating mountain region – social and environmental factors 10:15 - 10:30 Romana Uhrinová: Carnivore tracking project: a way to coexistence with large carnivores via a volunteer involvement 10:30 - 10:45 László Gál: The garbage bears of Băile Tușnad. A study of habituation in Romanian brown bears 10:45 - 11:00 Claudiu Olenici: Empowering wildlife conservation: The NGO’s role in supporting authorities with a feasible, complementary response and awareness system - prototype 11:00 - 11:30 Dávid Sütő, Alexandra Sallay-Moșoi: Modern misbeliefs about large carnivores influencing human-wildlife conflict 7 11:30 - 12:00 Coffee break Session 4A – Managing human-large carnivore conflicts 12:00 - 12:30 Robin Rigg: Bear attacks on humans: patterns, drivers and prevention 12:30 - 12:45 Nick Thorpe: Reporting and misreporting bears 12:45 - 13:00 Roman Cherepanyn: Structure and dynamics of conflicts with large carnivores in the Ukrainian Carpathians 13:00 - 13:30 Jenny Anne Glikman: Human-bear coexistence and protected areas in CentralAppennines 13:30 - 13:45 Andra-Claudia Neagu: Insufficient scientific evidence hinders large carnivore management in Romania 13:45 - 14:00 Thomas Paulic: Hunting principles for contributing to sustainable management and conservation of large carnivores in countries with high human-wildlife conflicts 14:00 - 14:15 Niki Voumvoulaki: Bear – motorways conflicts in Greece. Operational and maintenance challenges in Egnatia Odos S.A. case 14:15 - 15:45 Lunch break Session 4B – Managing human-large carnivore conflicts 15:45 - 16:15 Tibor Hartel: Human-bear conflicts in Romania: social polarization and conservation challenges 16:15 - 16:30 José Vicente Lopez-Bao: Human-bear coexistence in the Cantabrian Mountains: prevention an mitigation of conflicts 16:30 - 16:45 Vukan Lavadinović: Attitudes of Serbian hunters toward large carnivores 16:45 - 17:00 Andrea Sólyom: The bears’ appearance in a regional and a national newspaper in the first half of 2024 17:00 - 17:15 Radu Mot: Preventing and combating poaching – conclusions and recommendations after the implementation of the LIFE Connect Carpathians project 17:15 - 17:30 Silvia Borlea: Updated permeability and infrastructure conflict map of Romania 17:30 - 17:45 Horea-Emil Petrehuș: The importance of human management in the natural areal of Romania 17:45 - 18:00 Laurent Schley: The return of the wolf: lucky stroke or surplus to requirements? 18:00 - 19:30 Documentary - Bears Uncovered: Solutions (discussion with the director: Ovidiu Stancu) 19:30 Reception 8 Contents Tuesday 22 October Session 1: Fostering ecological connectivity 12 Cristian Papp, Călin Ardelean, Ioana Ismail: Can ecological connectivity support human-large carnivore coexistence? . . . . . . . . . . 12 Ancuța Fedorca, Aaron Laur, Gary Tabor, Gabriel Oppler: IUCN-WCPA Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group: A global network dedicated to ecologicalconnectivity..................................... 13 Cristina Băncilă, Silvia Borlea, Alexandra Doba, Marius Nistorescu: Bearsdon’tcrosshere..................................... 14 László Demeter: Spatial coverage of the Natura 2000 network and site management effects on bear conservation in the Eastern Carpathians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Tuesday 22 October Session 2: Wildlife forensics 16 Claire Gwinnett: Sherlock Holmes and the Bear Poaching Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Tuesday 22 October Session 3: Integrating technology in conflict reduction 17 Yago Alonso, Federico Cheda, Marco Rubinos, Boris Hinojo, Alexandra Sallay-Moșoi, Nándor Erős, Cristian Papp: Habitat mapping and its contribution to human-bear coexistence in the Băile Tușnad region, Romania............................................ 17 Jan Kees Schakel: Caught in the Camera Trap: Navigating the myriad of options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Cosmin-Andrei Conțu: RO-BEAR: Monitor and report bear sightings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Albin Ahmeti, Robert David, Artem Revenko, Jan-Kees Schakel: A species conservation simulation system based on knowledge graph for brown bear movementprediction ........................................ 20 Jan Kees Schakel, Koen de Koning , Melanie Arp : Bear Habitat Suitability Maps: Introduction of a novel and cost-effective mapping approach 21 Tuesday 22 October Session 3A: Developing bear-smart communities 22 Michal Haring: Bear resistant solutions in Slovakia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 9