Towards population-level conservation of Dinaric-Pindos brown bears

ongoing

In the Dinaric-Pindos Region threats to Bear conservation are increasing. Some of the countries in the Region do not have properly regulated large carnivore conservation and management strategies, including monitoring programs, their legal frameworks are not aligned with EU and international standards and Management Plans do not exist or are not implemented. While relevant international conventions have been signed by most of the countries, they are not adequately implemented. The state for establishment of Natura 2000 sites and implementation of the requirements of the Habitats Directive are behind schedule for countries aiming at EU accession. As an umbrella species, bears live in small densities, require large home ranges and are highly susceptible to habitat fragmentation, degradation and loss. Any fragmentation of the habitats and/or populations are harmful because it reduces or completely disables the connectivity of the population and movement of individuals across habitats. Some of the imminent results of the fragmentation are genetic drift and bottleneck effects, both resulting in population declines. The awareness of EU guidelines for population level conservation and management is very low in the Dinaric region, as is the capacity and competences to follow those guidelines. Three EU countries of the population (HR, SI and EL) are placed at the verge of the entire range and therefore are strongly dependent on the well-being of the entire population. Therefore, the main objectives of the DinPin Bear project will be • To identify and reduce the level of habitat fragmentation and bear population loss • To reduce the level of conflicts of bears with human activities and to provide tools for coexistence with local communities • To strengthen the legal and procedural basis for monitoring and management of bears • To enhance and align transnational cooperation on bear management • To gain the support of key stakeholders for assuring long-term bear conservation