17 Oct 2017 Coexisting with Large Carnivores: Challenges and Solutions
Much more effective measures need to be implemented now to mitigate the increasing conflicts between humans and large carnivores in Europe. This was the main message emerging from the conference “Coexisting with Large Carnivores: Challenges and Solutions” on 17 October 2017, at the European Parliament in Brussels.
Dr. Nicola Notaro, Head of the Unit Nature protection of DG Environment, focused on the fact that large carnivores are an integral part of ecosystems and landscapes across Europe, and the key approach to managing conflicts between human interests and the presence of large carnivore species is to develop a constructive dialogue with stakeholders, farmers, hunters and institutions. This dialogue should include the exchanging of knowledge, working together and using the tools provided within the current EU legislation and policy, which are flexible enough to be adapted to different contexts and geographical areas. He referred to the EU Action plan for nature, people and the economy as a means to achieve these actions.
The conference was hosted by MEP Karl-Heinz Florenz, EPP Group, President of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on “Biodiversity, Hunting, Countryside” and organised by FACE, the Federation of Associations for Hunting and Conservation of the EU. Current management and damage compensation schemes need to deliver suitable solutions for coexistence with regards to the increase of many large carnivore populations in Europe’s densely populated and multifunctional landscapes.
