Why so negative? Exploring the socio-economic impacts of large carnivores from a European perspective

Rode, Julian; Flinzberger, Lukas; Karutz, Raphael; Berghöfer, Augustín; Schröter‐Schlaack, Christoph

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108918

Cited by 41 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…To the best of our knowledge, this work is amongst the few [ 6 , 35 ] where public data about expenditures for mitigation measures against large carnivores and their damages to livestock have been reported in Europe. By also considering factors associated with abandonment of mitigation measures, as well as by measuring farmers’ satisfaction and perception of mitigation measures, we were able to draw a comprehensive picture of human–carnivore conflicts in Italy and its drivers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of European Funds and Ex Post Evaluation of Prevention Measures against Wolf Attacks (Canis lupus italicus) in the Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy)

Berzi

Cerri

Musto

et al. 2021

Animals

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Introduction: Compensation programs are an important tool for mitigating conflicts between farmers and large predators. However, they present significant weaknesses and faults. For years, the EU has been prioritizing programs for the prevention of damage caused by large carnivores, rather than compensation programs, introducing compulsory compensation for the purposes of decision EC (2019) 772 of 29/01/19. This manuscript reports the experience with the wolf damage prevention programs in an Italian region, Emilia-Romagna, which implemented a pilot project, adopting a new method to interface with the farmers involved in the prevention programs. Methods: Starting in 2014, a project aimed at spreading prevention measures was financed through regional and European resources, accompanied by resources sharing and technical assistance with breeders from the regional body. In detail, (i) standardized types of intervention were defined and technical assistance was structured; (ii) ex post, the effectiveness of the interventions carried out was assessed; and (iii) the difficulties encountered in using the various financing instruments were analyzed. Results: Overall, 298 farms were analyzed, of which 166 applied for regional calls and 132 applied for European funds. The mitigation measures produced a reduction in predatory phenomena of 93.4%, i.e., from 528 to 35 predations over a period of 4–6 years. This study shows that more than one-third of the farmers were forced to abandon the two tenders, mainly due to the lack of liquidity in anticipating the prevention measures. Conclusion: In the years examined by this study, the prevention programs in the Emilia-Romagna region, due to the technical support offered, proved to be a functional and effective tool, capable of significantly reducing the wolf predation on livestock. However, this work highlights the high percentage of denials of mitigation measures by farmers interested in adopting these tools, stressing the need for regional agencies to focus on new policies that can provide advance economic resources to farmers and solve the authorization problems related to the various bodies with which the participant in the tenders must interface.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of European Funds and Ex Post Evaluation of Prevention Measures against Wolf Attacks (Canis lupus italicus) in the Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy)

Berzi

Cerri

Musto

et al. 2021

Animals

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“…Large carnivores in Europe predominantly persist outside of protected areas (Chapron et al, 2014), which increases the probability of interactions with humans (Crespin and Simonetti, 2018;Rode et al, 2021). Reducing negative interactions is possible by spatially or temporally segregating human and large carnivore activities (Bruskotter et al, 2017;Reinhardt et al, 2019).…”

Section: Exposurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, while research has revealed the causes and components of dysfunctional HCRs, mostly through the lens of human-wildlife conflicts, there are fewer studies on what constitutes functioning human-carnivore coexistence (Lozano et al, 2019;Pooley et al, 2020). This could give the impression that conflict is a dominant and inevitable outcome of living with large carnivores, rather than one of multiple possible and often simultaneous relations (Peterson et al, 2010;Rode et al, 2021). Identification and amplification of functioning HCRs could greatly benefit conservation agendas, by providing effective and optimistic messages and examples (Madden, 2004;Bennett et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Welcoming Wolves? Governing the Return of Large Carnivores in Traditional Pastoral Landscapes

Pettersson

Quinn

Holmes

et al. 2021

Front. Conserv. Sci.

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Wolf populations are recovering across Europe and readily recolonize most areas where humans allow their presence. Reintegrating wolves in human-dominated landscapes is a major challenge, particularly in places where memories and experience of coexistence have been lost. Despite the observed expansion trends, little has been done to prepare communities for the return of these apex predators, or to understand what fosters and perpetuates coexistence. In this study, we present a theoretical framework for resilient coexistence based on four conditions: Effective institutions, large carnivore persistence, social legitimacy, and low levels of risk and vulnerability, nested within the social-ecological systems (SES) concept. To empirically show how the conditions can be manifested and interconnected, and how this knowledge could be used to improve local coexistence capacities, the framework is applied in a case study of human–wolf relations in Spain. We examined three traditionally pastoral landscapes at different states of cohabitation with wolves: uninterrupted presence, recent recolonization, and imminent return. We found that both the perceptions of wolves and the capacity to coexist with them diverged across these states, and that this was largely determined by a diversity of vulnerabilities that have not been recognized or addressed within current management regimes, such as economic precarity and weak legitimacy for governing institutions. Our results illustrate the importance of working in close contact with communities to understand local needs and enhance adaptive capacities in the face of rural transitions, beyond those directly related to wolves. The framework complements emerging tools for coexistence developed by researchers and practitioners, which offer guidance on the process of situational analysis, planning, and resource allocation needed to balance large carnivore conservation with local livelihoods.

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“…In fact, it has been noted that, while the areas historically affected by the wolf showed a good capacity to recover the balance between wolf and human activity, the same does not happen in the newly occupied areas, for fear of unknown risks (Salvatori & Linnell, 2005). The coexistence between wolfs and humans is a real challenge (Ciucci & Boitani, 2005;Graham et al, 2005;Treves et al, 2006;Dressel et al, 2015;Morehouse et al, 2020;Rode et al, 2021), as is the relationship between wolf and livestock (Chapron et al, 2014;Grossmann et al, 2020). But it is an unequal challenge, in which the wolf did not consciously choose to participate.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…But the same increase in the wolf population also increased conflicts with humans, which have always existed and are now exacerbated by a number of factors: presence in production-oriented landscapes (territorial competition) (Loveridge et al, 2010); predation of livestock (Olson et al, 2019;Ugarte et al, 2019); fear for humans and their pets security (Butler et al, 2013;Kruuk, 2002); amplification of risk perception by social media (Nanni et al, 2020); presence in human-dominated landscapes (Kuijper et al, 2019), such as urban suburbs. The social and media world often overestimates the wildlife negative impacts, and sometimes overlook some possible positive factors; for example, the presence of large carnivores could be used to promote nature tourism, and to disseminate an image of the territory linked to the protection of wildlife (Rode et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Análisis de las percepciones de los stakeholders sobre el lobo en la zona del Parque Nacional de Sila, Italia

Fasone

Gregorio

2021

pirineos

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Aunque la coexistencia entre lobos y humanos es posible y deseable, especialmente en áreas protegidas como el Parque Nacional de Sila, a menudo es una fuente de tensión. El debate sobre la convivencia y los conflictos entre humanos y lobos sigue siendo abierto y controvertido, lo que sugiere la importancia de tener en cuenta las “percepciones” de todas las partes interesadas. Este estudio analiza las percepciones de 3 grupos de partes interesadas (público general, expertos, criadores) en relación con varios factores, e investiga qué intervenciones pueden mitigar los conflictos relacionados con la coexistencia. Entre los resultados, notamos que la mayoría de los encuestados considera positiva la presencia del lobo en el área del Parque; pero solo los expertos consideran positiva esta presencia en el territorio en general, mientras que los otros dos grupos expresan opinión contraria o neutra.

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Why so negative? Exploring the socio-economic impacts of large carnivores from a European perspective

Cited by 41 publications

References 27 publications

Use of European Funds and Ex Post Evaluation of Prevention Measures against Wolf Attacks (Canis lupus italicus) in the Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy)

Use of European Funds and Ex Post Evaluation of Prevention Measures against Wolf Attacks (Canis lupus italicus) in the Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy)

Welcoming Wolves? Governing the Return of Large Carnivores in Traditional Pastoral Landscapes

Análisis de las percepciones de los stakeholders sobre el lobo en la zona del Parque Nacional de Sila, Italia

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