Project LIFE Human Bear Coex

LIFE HUMAN BEAR COEX – “Prevention and mitigation of conflicts in villages and their surroundings to favour coexistence between humans and bears in the higher bear density municipalities of the Cantabrian Mountains (Spain)” – Proyecto 101113624 – LIFE22-NAT-ES-LIFE

Coordinated by the Brown Bear Foundation (FOP) from july 2023 to december 2027, nine municipalities which host the highest density of brown bears in Spain are Project partners – Somiedo, Belmonte de Miranda, Cangas del Narcea, Ibias, Degaña and Proaza, in Asturias, and Villablino, Páramo del Sil and Palacios del Sil, in Leon. The regional governments of Principado de Asturias and Castilla y León collaborate with the project as Associates. Fundacion Oso de Asturias and Fundacion Patrimonio Natural de Castilla y León act as third-parties with in-kind contribution, and The European Nature Trust collaborate by financially supporting the project.

Cantabrian bears in urban environments

The Cantabrian bear population is experiencing a hopeful comeback that is allowing its territorial expansion, although the species is still endangered and has not reached a Favourable Conservation Status (FCS). However, this increase in bear numbers, together with the behavioural ecology of the species, the end of human prosecution and the social changes that have taken place in recent decades in rural areas, are associated with an increase in human-bear interactions. One of the most worrying conflicts is the presence of bears within or in close proximity to human settlements and their habituation to the presence of people, or conditioning to anthropogenic food sources such as rubbish. The number of such events increases every year, generating a social alarm that jeopardises the positive attitude towards bears of the inhabitants of these mountains.

Project objectives and actions

The overall objective of the project is to prevent and mitigate current and future human- bear conflicts in villages and other human settlements and their immediate surroundings in the Cantabrian Mountains, due to the positive trend in bear population and changes in human uses and activities in mountain areas.

ACTIONS

A. Project management and the coordination of activities

A.1. Project coordination, territorial management committees and progress reports.

A.2. Project financial management.

A.3. Preparatory training for the beneficiaries.

B. Prevention of conflicts with bears in human settlements and their surroundings

B.1. Creation and training of local conflict prevention teams.

B.2. Maintenance and cleaning of the security perimeter around settlements and the paths between or close to these, to reduce their accessibility by bears and improve detection, avoiding contact between bears and people.

B.3. Dissuasive planting of fruit stands (cherries and plums) well away from human settlements.

B.4. Creation of a local information channel on the presence of bears in human settlements.

C. Management and mitigation of conflicts with bears in human settlements and their surroundings

C.1. Protection of domestic animal installations or other points of attraction in human settlements and their surroundings.

C.2. Pilot test of bear-proof garbage containers.

C.3. Pilot test of bear detector-repellent devices in fruit trees or other points of attraction in human settlements.

C.4. Information, monitoring early warning of bear conflicts in human settlements.

C.5. Radio-tracking of bears involved in problems or conflicts in human settlements and their surroundings (in Asturias).

D. Information dissemination and communication

D.1. Project website and social media networks.

D.2. Project information material.

D.3. Project information material.Information campaign for the local inhabitants, local retail establishments and social actors regarding good waste disposal practices, the elimination of attractants, management of problem bears and an environmental educational campaign for local schools.

D.4. Activities with local, regional and national media.

D.5. Support for socioeconomic development and entrepreneurship in the municipalities linked to and with a positive image of the brown bear.

D.6. Networking with other projects and visits to other areas with similar situations.

E. Monitoring and evaluation

E.1. Initial and final evaluations of the social perception of the presence of brown bears in the surroundings of human settlements and the effectiveness of the project’s actions.

E.2. Monitoring of the activities for the prevention of bear conflicts in human settlements.

E.3. Monitoring of cases of problem bears in human settlements, mitigation measures and their results.

E.4. Monitoring of the information, dissemination and communication activities.

E.5. Monitoring and production of the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) report.

F. Sustainability, replication and utilisation of the project results

F.1. Sustainability of the actions: After-LIFE Conservation Plan

F.2. Proposal for replication in other municipalities of the Cantabrian mountains

F.3. Proposal for replication in other municipalities of the Cantabrian mountains

SPECIFIC GOALS

Proposal for replication in other municipalities of the Cantabrian mountains.

Manage and mitigate ongoing conflicts with bears in human settlements and their surroundings through protection of attractants, testing of innovative methods, and monitoring and early warning of bear-human conflicts.

Informing and raising awareness among neighbours and local stakeholders on the prevention of conflicts with bears in human settlements, establishing and applying good practices for garbage management, promoting the role of municipalities and reducing social alarm to achieve a good coexistence between bears and humans.

MAIN QUANTIFIED RESULTS

Area of action

The LIFE Human Bear COEX is being developed from july 2023 to december 2027 in the western Cantabrian mountains, in the municipalities which host the highest density of brown bears in Spain: Somiedo, Belmonte de Miranda, Proaza, Cangas del Narcea, Degaña and Ibias (Asturias) and in Villablino, Palacios del Sil and Páramo del Sil (Leon). The communication campaign on the prevention of conflicts with bears in villages and their surroundings reaches the entire distribution area of the Cantabrian brown bear.

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LIFE in action

Exchanges with Andorra to improve bear conservation and coexistence with human activities

23 June, 2026

During the month of May, we had the pleasure of accompanying an institutional delegation from the Government of Andorra, led by the Minister of Environment, Agriculture and Livestock, Guillem Casal; the Director of the Department of Environment and Sustainability,…

We continue to champion the exchange of ideas, actions, and experiences in support of coexistence with bears in other European populations

14 June, 2025

María Párraga, Marina Gaona, and Alicia Madrid, members of the technical and field team of the LIFE Human Bear Coex project coordinated by the FOP, visited the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park in the Italian Apennines to learn first‑hand about…

Webinar on human-wildlife coexistence alongside LIFE Iberconejo project

6 June, 2024

Advancing from conflict towards an effective co-existence, which benefits both people and biodiversity, is one of the major challenges for nature conservation around the world. It is a challenge that spans endangered as well as more common species, the…

The bear territory reaffirms its commitment to coexistence with the species at a meeting of mayors in Somiedo

30 April, 2024

We want bears, but away from the villages. This is the message reiterated today by the six municipalities with the highest density of bears in the region of Asturias, meeting with the Principado de Asturias and the Brown Bear Foundation (FOP) in the constitution…

The municipalities in the most critical brown bear areas in Spain will lead a LIFE project to promote coexistence, together with the Brown Bear Foundation and the regional Governments of Asturias and Castilla y Leon

15 March, 2024

Nine municipalities in the western Cantabrian mountains, which host the highest density of brown bears in Spain, will be the main actors in a new conservation Project supported by the European Union’s LIFE Programme. “LIFE Human Bear Coex”, coordinated…

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Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them

Project LIFE Human Bear Coex

Cantabrian bears in urban environments

Project objectives and actions

Area of action

LIFE in action

Exchanges with Andorra to improve bear conservation and coexistence with human activities

We continue to champion the exchange of ideas, actions, and experiences in support of coexistence with bears in other European populations

Webinar on human-wildlife coexistence alongside LIFE Iberconejo project

The bear territory reaffirms its commitment to coexistence with the species at a meeting of mayors in Somiedo

The municipalities in the most critical brown bear areas in Spain will lead a LIFE project to promote coexistence, together with the Brown Bear Foundation and the regional Governments of Asturias and Castilla y Leon

Documentation

Project roll-up (in spanish)

state-location-english

Tríptico informativo

Links

Programa LIFE de la Unión Europea

Red Natura 2000 de la Unión Europea

Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico

Principado de Asturias

Junta de Castilla y León

Fundación Patrimonio Natural de Castilla y León

Ayuntamiento de Villablino

Ayuntamiento de Palacios del Sil

Ayuntamiento de Páramo del Sil

Ayuntamiento de Somiedo

Ayuntamiento de Belmonte de Miranda

Ayuntamiento de Proaza

Ayuntamiento de Cangas del Narcea

Ayuntamiento de Degaña

Ayuntamiento de Ibias

FUNDACIÓN OSO PARDO