Threats and international tools for sustainable Brown bear (Ursus arctos L.) management

Abstract

Negative relation between humans and large carnivores with unprofitable management caused a decrease in abundance of the latter within their natural habitat. Main reasons for negative attitudes of humans towards large carnivores are damages, fear and unfamiliarity with their characteristics. Brown bear (Ursus arctos) is a European autochthonous large carnivore. Although it is not threatened at the global level, its abundance in Europe is limited to several populations. Protection has an important role in brown bear conservation, since they face different threats, mainly by negative human activities. Conservation of the brown bear is complicated due to its habitats overlapping with the human environment and also because brown bears require large territories. In order to protect brown bears more efficiently, it is important to identify the threats and to conduct the species protection by international recommendations and agreements. In this paper, we analysed brown bear distribution in Europe, abundance limitation factors and international conservation instruments.