Approximately half of the total number of
\nbig carnivores in Europe can be found in Romania’s forests. The biggest of
\nthem, also dubbed ‘the king of the European forest’ is the brown bear, a
\nspecies that is protected in the European Union, as it is on the red list of
\nendangered species. In many European countries, these bears have actually
\ndisappeared from their natural habitats, destroyed by human intervention. In
\nRomania there are several viable populations of bear, which are however very
\ndifficult to manage. For years now, people have been reporting cases of bears
\nwho come down to the inhabited areas, causing serious damage. Many people have
\nbeen hurt and dozens of domestic animals have been killed. Also, the bears have
\ndestroyed crops and damaged sheepfolds and apiaries. Local authorities in the
\nmountain areas are overwhelmed by the situation and have called on the Ministry
\nof the Environment to find a solution. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Cristian Pap, the regional coordinator
\nof protected areas with WWF Romania has told us why the situation is as it is
\ntoday:<\/p>\n
We’re
\nin this situation as the result of an aggregation of factors, including the
\nfragmentation of bears’ habitats. Forests have been massively cut, everywhere
\nin the country. Then, natural food supplies have diminished, which means that
\nthe bears, just like other big carnivores, can no longer find prey in the
\nforest. Forest fruits are also scarce,
\nbecause people pick them all up. On the other hand, bears are attracted to the
\ninhabited areas by the waste that is not properly stored or disposed of, and
\nalso by orchards. And, we can also talk about the change in their behavior due
\nto the way in which hunting is managed in Romania. There are hunters who feed
\nthe bears in order to prepare them for their hunting parties.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
This summer, out
\nof the 18 hunting associations existing in Harghita county, in central Romania,
\n12 have submitted applications to
\nharvest 73 bears and 12 wolves. An approval was issued for only 6 bears,
\nalthough, since the beginning of the year, more than 340 cases of destruction
\ncaused by wild animals have been reported in this county alone, of which 80
\ncaused by bears. This fall, the Ministry of the Environment has approved an
\norder for the catching of at most 140 dangerous animals, all over the country,
\nbut hunting associations representatives say it’s not enough. For instance, in
\nCovasna county, the habitat can accommodate 700 bears, but in reality their
\nnumber is double. While local authorities call for harvesting approvals, the
\ngreen associations suggest non-lethal solutions, in order to protect the
\nspecies. They do not agree with a waiver that would allow shooting bears as a
\nmeans of conflict prevention, anticipating a hidden way of trophy hunting. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Here
\nis the green activist Gabriel Paun:<\/p>\n
Trophy
\nhunting is the main cause of today’s hysteria, which is an artificial problem
\nfrom our point of view and which actually generated the problem that we are
\nfaced with today. If we look at Romania’s history, up to the 80s and 90s,
\npeople simply cohabited with wild animals. When the trophy industry started
\ndeveloping and growing roots, it started turning into a problem, which
\neventually degenerated into hysteria. This industry has developed alongside
\ncertain services, which actually meant the setting up of observation points to
\nfind and shoot the bears living close to the local communities. Most of them
\nare in Covasna and Harghita, where there are also the largest bear populations.
\nAlso, it is there that the biggest problems appear, because the bears were
\ntaken out of the woods, and since they are not fed at those observation points
\nanymore, problems occur on a regular basis.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Green activists
\nbelieve that the brown bear needs large habitats to travel around without interacting
\nwith humans, using central passing corridors. WWF is already running a number
\nof projects and campaigns aimed at protecting the natural environment and the
\nbrown bears in the Carpathians, as Cristian Pap told us:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
In 2012-2014 we had a project in Maramures,
\ncalled ‘Open borders for the bears in the Romanian and Ukrainian Carpathians’,
\nbringing solutions for the preservation of biodiversity, especially that of
\nlarge carnivores, by maintaining ecological connectivity in the Carpathians and
\nreducing the risk of habitat fragmentation. We have also identified the needs
\nfor an ecological reconstruction of these corridors, while at the same time
\nmaintaining a sustainable use of natural resources. All our preservation
\nactivities go hand in hand with this sustainable development component. We’ve
\nalso run many other projects, including in the south-western Carpathians, where
\nwe tried to identify the critical areas for the bears’ habitat, the wild areas.
\nWe are currently running a project called ‘Transgreen’, an international
\nproject that provides solutions for the building of a transport infrastructure
\nwith a minimum impact on the environment. Together with the authorities we come
\nup with concrete solutions, which combine infrastructure development with
\necological connectivity. So, we are talking about a green infrastructure that
\nis essential for both people and animals. Also, we are now running a project
\ncalled ‘EU Large Carnivores’, a Life project by means of which we are trying to
\nreduce the area in which conflicts may occur between people and wild animals.
\nThis ecological connectivity is important because, due to its absence in
\ncertain areas, we can actually witness conflicts between bears and humans.
\nBecause there are no ecological corridors they can use in order to get from one
\narea to another, bears can reach human settlements and cause incidents. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The solutions
\nproposed by environmental organizations include electric fences, the setting up
\nof an emergency center for wild animals and a better waste management system in
\nthe localities situated at the foot of the mountain. Some people have suggested
\nbears should be relocated, but the risk of them returning to the place where
\nthey were captured remains. In the meantime, the Ministry of the Environment
\nhas been working on a plan to manage the bear population and has promised to
\nsubmit it for public debate in January at the latest. Also, a census is being
\nconsidered, to establish exactly how many bears are there in the Carpathians. (Translated by Mihaela Ignatescu)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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