Brown bears in Austria : 10 Years of Conservation and Actions of the Future

Wien

1999

38 S.

Bandaufführung

63747

The present report of the Federal Environment Agency - Austria provides a detailed account of the bearÖs return to Austria. Beginning with a stray migrant from Slovenia in 1972, the Austrian bear project has evolved into an important conservation program. Ten years ago, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF Austria) released the first of three bears in the Northern Limestone Alps of Austria. This event marked the start of the reintroduction project and the commencement of the Austrian bear project. Throughout the last ten years the bear project has gone through various phases and changes: - The reintroduction project from 1989 to 1993. - The "trouble year" 1994. - The LIFE program from 1995 to 1998 - The conservation program according to the guidelines of the management plan. There were several activities that had to be carried out in order to prepare for the brown bearÖs natural resettlement of the Eastern Alps: an insurance company had to be found that was willing to compensate for the damages caused by bears; scientific data concerning brown bears in the Alps needed to be collected; and ways had to be found to gain the acceptance of the groups which opposed the project. It took some time but by 1989 Austria was ready to commence its bear project. In the next four years the bear project would encounter some problems but nothing would compare to the "trouble year" of 1994. The amount of damages caused by bears reached a height never seen before. It was not just the high number of damages that were worrisome it was also the behaviour of the "nuisance" bears as these animals were approaching occupied houses; thus, the public became nervous and their attitude towards the bears changed drastically. WWF had to cancel the reintroduction program and develop new methods to conserve the brown bear population of Austria. The LIFE program was the next phase in the bear project. The main activities of this program wer: development of a management plan; creation of a large scale public awareness program; foundation and training of a bear emergency team; reduction of damage caused by bears; and improvement of international co-operation. The funding from the European Union LIFE program made the development of these activities possible. After the LIFE program was finished the conservation of brown bears continued due to a cooperation between: the governments (Federal and Provicial); the Ministry of Environment; the HunterÖs Association; the Federal Environmental Agency; and WWF Austria. This co-operation secured a nation-wide homogeneous process for bear conservation. There have been financial limitations on the bear project since the end of the LIFE program, however the project has benefited in other ways, such as the implementation of the management plan which was a very important step for bear conservation in Austria. A Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe was launched in 1995 and WWF Austria was involved in the campaign from the start. This initiative produced an "Action Plan for the Conservation of the Brown Bear", which identified topics and actions necessary to the survival and protection of the brown bear specific to the countries involved in the initiative. It is hoped that the creation of this initiative will encourage political co-operation on an international level as it has already helped develop stron international relationships between scientists. There is a good chance that the population of brown bears in Austria can reach a secure level because they have a high reproductive rate and they tend to move across small distances. However, the behaviour of bears has changed due to their interaction with humans resulting in an increase of damages. Their most serious threat is the negative attitude that humans have towards bears. In order to ensure the survival of brown bears in Austria humans have to learn how to live in harmony with these endangered animals.