CoCo at the 29th International Conference on Bear Research and Management

From 20 to 25 September 2026, the 29th International Conference on Bear Research and Management took place in Pescasseroli, Italy. The conference was hosted alongside the final conference of the LIFE Bear-Smart Corridors (LBSC) initiative, with human–bear coexistence as the unifying theme of both gatherings. The joint conference brought together scientists, professionals, government authorities, NGOs, and local communities to share knowledge, research, and practical experiences.

CoCo was represented by three partners, who brought insights shaped by field experience in Romania, Slovakia, and Greece: Ioan-Mihai Pop (ICDCRM), Robin Rigg (University of Ljubljana), and Dimitris Bormpoudakis (CALLISTO). Their contributions added valuable local perspectives to international discussions on bear conservation and coexistence, demonstrating how sharing experience across landscapes helps connect research with the practical realities of living alongside bears.

Who lives, who dies, who returns? Demographic bias in brown bear emergency interventions in Romania

Ioan-Mihai Pop presented an analysis of Romania's National Register of Bear Emergency Interventions, examining which sex and age classes of bears are involved in human-bear interactions in settlements in the Romanian Carpathians, and which are most likely to be lethally removed. The results revealed pronounced differences between groups: females with cubs and adult males had the highest intervention intensity, while lethal outcomes were most frequent for females without cubs and adult males. These preliminary results suggest that current emergency intervention practices disproportionately affect specific demographic groups, with potential implications for population structure. 

Goldilocks or Anna Karenina? Bear management principles and policies

In his presentation, Robin Rigg explored various aspects of bear management from two contrasting perspectives: the Goldilocks Principle, which seeks a middle ground between opposing extremes, and the Anna Karenina Principle, states that all key factors must align for success, i.e. there are more ways to fail than to succeed. Using Slovakia as a case study, he described how the recovering brown bear population in the Slovak Western Carpathians was accompanied by increasing attacks, media attention and political controversy. Successive governments have pursued sharply divergent policies, from prioritising non-lethal measures to indiscriminate culling, leaving positions polarised. Rigg presented the CoCo project as an effort to reconcile these views and achieve a balance that benefits both people and wildlife. 

Stakeholder Interaction in Bear-Smart Communities

Dimitris Bormpoudakis presented a new methodological approach, developed under LIFE Bear-Smart Corridors, for monitoring stakeholder interaction within participatory processes: Bear-Smart Communities. Applied to 37 meetings across 11 Bear-Smart Communities in Italy and Greece, the analysis showed that environmental NGOs, protected area authorities, and prefectures were the most vocal stakeholder groups, while stockbreeders, foresters, entrepreneurs/employees in tourism and local association spoke a medium number of times. The pattern of engagement across all groups was broadly similar despite differences in absolute participation.