Large Carnivores EU Platform on coexistence meets in Brussels

One year after its establishment the EU Platform on Coexistence between People andLarge Carnivores met for their second annual meeting on 2nd June 2015 in BrusselsRepresentatives from ELO shy European Landowners Organization Jointrepresentatives of Finnish and Swedish reindeer herders FACE shy The EuropeanFederation of Associations for Hunting amp Conservation CIC shy The International Councilfor Game and Wildlife Conservation IUCN shy The World Conservation Union EuropeanUnion Representative Office WWF shy Worldwide Fund for Nature European PolicyOffice and EUROPARC Federation met to discuss their work over the previous yearand their future plans Amongst the items on a packed agenda was the first version ofthe Platformrsquos communication plan The Platform also discussed socioshyeconomicaspects of human ndash large carnivore coexistence and will further follow it up at its futuremeetings

A number of case studies gathered from a range of EU Member States were reviewedThe Platform recognized the relevance of the Rural Development Programmes insupporting livestock protection measures and has decided to follow the processthrough its members In addition FACE asked to address some hunting related issuesat a further date

The first regional workshop of the Platform held in Pravets Bulgaria and hosted byCIC as a side event to their Annual General Assembly was particularly welcomed bythe Platform Around 120 stakeholders including a large number of hunters from theregion discussed three key issues transboundary cooperation moving from conflictsto coexistence and prioritized key issues for large carnivores in the Balkan andCarpathian regions The Platform members were informed by Finnish ReindeerHerdersrsquo Association of their plans to convene a second regional workshop in Finlandlater this year

The coshychairs of the Platform the European Commission and ELO expressed their

462015 Large Carnivores EU Platform on coexistence meets in Brussels (Press Release)

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gratitude to Members for their contribution to an interesting meeting and continuedwillingness to work constructively together Konstantin Kostopoulos coshychairing forELO said ldquoParticipants today have shown their willingness to make an effort tocommunicate with each other and their members on the range of issues involvingcoexistence with large carnivores What we need now is for all Members to use theirown channels of communication to reach a wider audiencerdquo Pia Bucella for theEuropean Commission added ldquoWe were delighted to see the engagement in the firstregional workshop and the ldquoconstructive disagreementrdquo between participants Thesame coexistence issues may be faced under different European cultures andecological conditions Therefore listening to the local perspectives on Large Carnivoreissues is invaluablerdquo

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Further information athttpeceuropaeuenvironmentnatureconservationspeciescarnivoresindex_enhtm Press contact delphinedupeuxeloorg

462015 Large Carnivores EU Platform on coexistence meets in Brussels (Press Release)

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