The EUROPARC Federation: EUROPARC se připojil k Evropské komisi v nové platformě, která má pomoci řešit konflikty soužití s velkými šelmami

Yesterday, in Brussels, at the premises of the Committee of the Regions, EUROPARC President, Mr. Thomas Hansson, signed the agreement on key principles of engagement in the EU platform on Coexistence of People with Large Carnivores. Eight key European Stakeholder organisation joined to sign the agreement to promote dialogue and cooperation.

European Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Janez Potocnik, hosting the event, pointed out this act as “A symbol of tolerance for non-human neighbours, even those difficult ones”. He also applauded the eight stakeholder organisations for joining and stated, "It took courage and determination to join the platform."

Expertise in sustainable tourism, green infrastructure through transboundary areas and educational point is what EUROPARC will bring into this platform. EUROPARC President pointed out the importance of proper management of Protected Areas and cross-border cooperation, especially in the aspect of green infrastructure. Transboundary areas are particularly important for carnivores, he added- "there is no "legal" boundaries for animals - they don’t know the boundaries." Another important reason why EUROPARC joined the platform is the education of people and especially youngsters, which can and should be done though our protected areas and their visitor centres through different programmes such as Junior Ranger. EUROPARC can find solutions to provide to the platform, looking at local examples to support coexistence of people and large carnivores. We can bring and learn from practical solutions from our members experiences.

The European Union is home to five species of large carnivores. All suffered dramatic declines in numbers and distribution as a consequence of human activity, but increasing protection and public awareness about their vital role in healthy ecosystems have caused many populations to stabilize or increase, and to return to areas from which they had been absent for decades or even centuries.

The purpose of this platform is to support constructive dialogue between key stakeholder organisations at the European level. Launching this agreement is an incredible step further; farmers, conservationists, hunters, landowners and scientists can now even more exchange ideas and best practices on sharing the same land with large carnivores.

The eight stakeholder associations that signed the platform agreement are:
- CIC – The International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation;
- COPA-COGECA – European Farmers and European Agri-cooperatives;
- ELO - European Landowners’ Organization;
- EUROPARC Federation;
- FACE – The European Federation of Associations for Hunting & Conservation;
- Joint representative of Finnish and Swedish reindeer herders;
- IUCN – The International Union for Conservation of Nature, European Union Representative Office;
- WWF – World Wide Fund for Nature, European Policy Office.