Workshop for Transboundary Monitoring of Brown Bear Population

Efforts
towards population-level monitoring has been one of the crucial objectives of
our project. A two-day workshop entitled “Transboundary Harmonization of Brown
Bear Population Monitoring” was organized as one of the concluding activities
of the project and was held at University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty.

Within the
course of the project, we tested and implemented a number of different
monitoring ideas and approaches to augment or extend the existing national
monitoring schemes. We gained experience and knowledge and performed a
cost-benefit analysis that provided answers on what works and what doesn’t.
However, monitoring is still carried out on the national level and remains to a
large degree fragmented. To efficiently track the development of this dynamic,
expanding population and aid in its conservation, we need to harmonize the
monitoring across all involved countries. 

At the
beginning of the workshop, an overview of the current state of brown bear
monitoring in all participating countries was presented by the project partners.
We looked in details at the differences and what they have in common and discussed
what works well and what doesn’t. A facilitated discussion followed, where we
were searching for practical solutions for establishing multinational,
population level monitoring of brown bears in NW Dinaric Mountains and SE Alps.