Within the framework of the LIFE Osos con Futuro project, the Fundación Oso Pardo (FOP) has signed collaboration agreements with the mountain sports federations of Asturias, Castilla y León and Cantabria. The objective in all these cases is to inform and raise awareness, so that the practice of these activities in winter is carried out in the safest manner possible for both the participants and the bears.

Global warming favours either a reduction in the hibernation of the brown bear, or leads to no hibernation at all. Additionally, coinciding with a greater winter presence of active bears, outdoors recreational activities are also increasing, especially in winter as a result of a warmer climate. This convergence may increase the possibilities of encounters and interactions between bears and humans, hence the necessity to inform about the best practices to avoid them.

The FOP has produced an animated video for this collective, the “Recommendations for visiting the brown bear mountains”, which is being widely broadcast in conjunction with the mountain sports federations. A digital information infograph is being finalised which will be distributed to all of these federations. In order to finalise these actions, a series of routes will be developed during which a FOP specialist will explain in situ the best mountaineering practices to undertake in bear areas.

The mountain sports federations with which agreements have been signed within the LIFE project framework are:

• Castilla y León Mountain Sports, Climbing and Hiking Federation
• Principality of Asturias Mountain Sports, Climbing and Hiking Federation
• Cantabrian Mountain Sports and Climbing Federation

A coordinated project

The “Bears with Future” Project, co-financed by the European Union LIFE Project, will be carried out until 2025. It is coordinated by the Brown Bear Foundation in partnership with the Biodiversity Foundation (Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge), and the Natural heritage Foundation of the Castilla y León regional government. The Government of Asturias is co-financer, via the Directorate General for the Environment and Rural Planning, of the Department of Rural Development, Agriculture and Fisheries. Tierra Pura Foundation collaborates technically and co-finances the project.