EU Platform on Coexistence between People and Large Carnivores

Roughly one third of Europe's land surface is populated by at least one of four European large carnivore species: the Eurasian lynx, the wolf, the brown bear and the wolverine. The four species have large transboundary ranges... [ view full abstract ]

Roughly one third of Europe's land surface is populated by at least one of four European large carnivore species: the Eurasian lynx, the wolf, the brown bear and the wolverine. The four species have large transboundary ranges and occur in human dominated landscapes. The conservation status of these species vary: while some populations are healthy and increasing in size, others are still critically endangered.

Protective legislation and the support from civil society has contributed to the recovery of most large carnivore populations in Europe. However, their presence can create serious conflicts with human activities such as farming, hunting and recreation, especially in areas where carnivore numbers have only recently increased and for successful coexistence, these conflicts must be addressed.

To this end, an open dialogue between different interest groups interested in or affected by large carnivores is needed. The EU Platform on Coexistence between People and Large Carnivores,exists to ensure this dialogue takes place.

The Platform was launched in June 2014, with the support of the European Commission and the organisations who had signed up to become members. The Platform members are transnational organisations and associations representing different stakeholder groups who have agreed to the mission: “ways and means to minimize, and wherever possible find solutions to, conflicts between human interests and the presence of large carnivore species, by exchanging knowledge and by working together in an open-ended, constructive and mutually respectful way”. The following seven stakeholder organisations are members:  the European Landowners’ Organization(ELO), the Joint representatives of Finnishand Swedish reindeer herders, the European Federation of Associations for Hunting & Conservation(FACE),  the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation(CIC), theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) - Species Survival Commission (LCIE), the Worldwide Fund for Nature (European Policy Office)and the EUROPARC Federation.

The Platform gathers and analyses case studies demonstrating good practice for coexistence with large carnivores and presents them on its website and at events. To give stakeholders an opportunity to share their experiences and expertise, as well as to discuss problems and potential solutions, the EU Large Carnivore Platform regularly organises meetings. As a “one size-fits-all” approach to large carnivore management across Europe is not possible and innovative solutions are needed to solve conflicts, workshops to promote dialogue among stakeholders in regions with high conflicts are organised. The EU Platform model is now being adopted elsewhere, with the roll-out of several regional platforms in areas with ongoing conflicts caused by large carnivore presence.

Presenting authors: Secretariat of the EU Large Carnivore Platform