The contribution of the LIFE program to mitigating damages caused by large carnivores in Europe
Governments around the world invest considerable resources to reduce damages caused by large carnivores on human property. To use these investments more efficiently and effectively, we need to understand which interventions successfully prevent such damages and which do not. In the European Union, t...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:32eaf5a56bb84619a665fd5e5a3c6009 2023-05-15T15:50:54+02:00 The contribution of the LIFE program to mitigating damages caused by large carnivores in Europe Teresa Oliveira Adrian Treves José Vicente López-Bao Miha Krofel 2021-11-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01815 https://doaj.org/article/32eaf5a56bb84619a665fd5e5a3c6009 EN eng Elsevier http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989421003656 https://doaj.org/toc/2351-9894 2351-9894 doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01815 https://doaj.org/article/32eaf5a56bb84619a665fd5e5a3c6009 Global Ecology and Conservation, Vol 31, Iss , Pp e01815- (2021) Coexistence Human-wildlife conflicts Europe Damage prevention Brown bear Grey wolf Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01815 2022-12-31T12:59:26Z Governments around the world invest considerable resources to reduce damages caused by large carnivores on human property. To use these investments more efficiently and effectively, we need to understand which interventions successfully prevent such damages and which do not. In the European Union, the LIFE program represents by far the largest financial instrument to help EU Member States with the implementation of conservation activities, including mitigation of damages caused by large carnivores. However, we currently lack information about the effectiveness of this funding program in reducing carnivore damages. We reviewed 135 LIFE projects dealing with large carnivores between 1992 and 2019 to provide an overview of the use of damage prevention methods and evaluate their functional and perceived effectiveness. Methods evaluated ranged from non-lethal and lethal interventions, to information dissemination and compensation schemes. The largest number of the projects was focused on grey wolf (Canis lupus) and brown bears (Ursus arctos) in the Mediterranean countries and in Romania. Electric fences were reported as the most successful method for reducing damages by large carnivores, and most of the non-lethal methods used showed at least moderate effectiveness. However, standards of measuring and reporting effectiveness were in general relatively low, which limits our ability to measure actual impact. We urge project managers and evaluators to improve these standards, as well as the dissemination of the project results. We provide a list of recommendations for improving measuring and reporting success of implemented interventions for the benefit of future projects aimed to reduce damages caused by wildlife. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus Ursus arctos Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Global Ecology and Conservation 31 e01815 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Coexistence Human-wildlife conflicts Europe Damage prevention Brown bear Grey wolf Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
Coexistence Human-wildlife conflicts Europe Damage prevention Brown bear Grey wolf Ecology QH540-549.5 Teresa Oliveira Adrian Treves José Vicente López-Bao Miha Krofel The contribution of the LIFE program to mitigating damages caused by large carnivores in Europe |
topic_facet |
Coexistence Human-wildlife conflicts Europe Damage prevention Brown bear Grey wolf Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Governments around the world invest considerable resources to reduce damages caused by large carnivores on human property. To use these investments more efficiently and effectively, we need to understand which interventions successfully prevent such damages and which do not. In the European Union, the LIFE program represents by far the largest financial instrument to help EU Member States with the implementation of conservation activities, including mitigation of damages caused by large carnivores. However, we currently lack information about the effectiveness of this funding program in reducing carnivore damages. We reviewed 135 LIFE projects dealing with large carnivores between 1992 and 2019 to provide an overview of the use of damage prevention methods and evaluate their functional and perceived effectiveness. Methods evaluated ranged from non-lethal and lethal interventions, to information dissemination and compensation schemes. The largest number of the projects was focused on grey wolf (Canis lupus) and brown bears (Ursus arctos) in the Mediterranean countries and in Romania. Electric fences were reported as the most successful method for reducing damages by large carnivores, and most of the non-lethal methods used showed at least moderate effectiveness. However, standards of measuring and reporting effectiveness were in general relatively low, which limits our ability to measure actual impact. We urge project managers and evaluators to improve these standards, as well as the dissemination of the project results. We provide a list of recommendations for improving measuring and reporting success of implemented interventions for the benefit of future projects aimed to reduce damages caused by wildlife. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Teresa Oliveira Adrian Treves José Vicente López-Bao Miha Krofel |
author_facet |
Teresa Oliveira Adrian Treves José Vicente López-Bao Miha Krofel |
author_sort |
Teresa Oliveira |
title |
The contribution of the LIFE program to mitigating damages caused by large carnivores in Europe |
title_short |
The contribution of the LIFE program to mitigating damages caused by large carnivores in Europe |
title_full |
The contribution of the LIFE program to mitigating damages caused by large carnivores in Europe |
title_fullStr |
The contribution of the LIFE program to mitigating damages caused by large carnivores in Europe |
title_full_unstemmed |
The contribution of the LIFE program to mitigating damages caused by large carnivores in Europe |
title_sort |
contribution of the life program to mitigating damages caused by large carnivores in europe |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01815 https://doaj.org/article/32eaf5a56bb84619a665fd5e5a3c6009 |
genre |
Canis lupus Ursus arctos |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus Ursus arctos |
op_source |
Global Ecology and Conservation, Vol 31, Iss , Pp e01815- (2021) |
op_relation |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989421003656 https://doaj.org/toc/2351-9894 2351-9894 doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01815 https://doaj.org/article/32eaf5a56bb84619a665fd5e5a3c6009 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01815 |
container_title |
Global Ecology and Conservation |
container_volume |
31 |
container_start_page |
e01815 |
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1766385934084866048 |