engleski

Multidimensional approach to bear management in Croatia

With all of its biological features, its important place in the mind of humans, and the considerable amount of international interest for its conservation, the management of large carnivore such as brown bear (Ursus arctos) in Europe is very challenging. The management plan is expected to bring together different interests such as ecological, aesthetical and economic, as well as care for the safety of people and their properties. It should also ensure conditions for the long-term survival of the brown bear, the species listed as an endangered by different international regulations, but also the game species in Croatia. Careful evaluation of the actions affecting the population size represents the most critical part of this plan. Those actions should ensure the size of the bear population within the social capacity of the habitat. In other words, the density of bears should be one that is acceptable to people. In this way, possible conflicts with people are minimized, whilst the long-term viability of the population will be ensured. In order to achieve this goal, a series of other actions and measures related to the bears’ habitat and human activities in the habitat (e.g. highway construction and so on), the feeding of bears by humans, the prevention of problematic bear occurrences and the scientific monitoring of all changes in the population have to be regulated. The implementation of the plan is, for the most part, a task of the hunting management experts, however, representatives of all other interest groups should also be actively involved. Finally, the plan should undergo occasional revision, which should take place more often than is the case for some other management plans. In large carnivore management, and especially in bear management, there are no final and universal solutions. Each change in the number of bears, the areas of their presence or behavior, requires new decisions. The plan offers guidelines for the decision-making process, and in the case of new circumstances, it will be adjusted through revision processes. Croatian citizens, citizens of neighboring countries, as well as Europe and the world, expect that Croatia, with its Brown Bear Management Plan, officially accepted in May 2004, is ensuring the long-term existence of as many bears as possible in its habitats, with as few negative effects as possible.

brown bear; management; Croatia

nije evidentirano