As part of the Foundation Conservation Carpathia’s strategy to manage and prevent human-bear conflicts, we organised the first temporary collection point for animal waste in the commune of Rucăr, Argeș County, in partnership with Rucăr Town Hall.
The first results are promising: we have already collected more than seven tonnes of animal waste in Rucăr. The local community has responded very well to Carpathia’s initiative, and since the construction of the facility, more and more farmers from Rucăr have been coming to deposit their animal waste in this special place.
Every week, the waste is collected by a specialised company and sent for incineration. The costs are covered by the Carpathian Forestry Association.
In too many cases, animal waste ends up on the edge of forests or in streams because there is no organised system for its disposal and collection. This makes it irresistible to bears, which are attracted to it.
The aim of this initiative is to eliminate some of the sources of attraction for bears in the municipality of Rucăr. The temporary collection point is equipped with metal Euro-bins and electric fencing. The project partner is the Town Hall of Rucăr. They donated the land on which the collection point is located and organised meetings with farmers to ensure their participation in the waste management.
“We are present in the community and take active measures to prevent human-wildlife conflicts,” says Mihai Zotta, Head of the Carpathia Forestry Association. “Abandoned animal remains in areas relatively close to villages attract bears to the area and cause conflicts. Trying to set up a system to collect animal waste is part of the Foundation’s bear conflict prevention and management strategy, along with all the other measures we develop for the benefit of the species and the people in the project area: DNA bear monitoring studies, creation of quiet zones in the forest, ecological forest restoration and ecosystem restoration, creation and maintenance of rapid intervention teams to manage bear-human conflicts, provision of electric fencing to local communities free of charge for temporary periods, donation of Romanian Carpathian shepherd dogs for livestock guarding.”
About the Foundation Conservation Carpathia initiative
Foundation Conservation Carpathia initiates the implementation of a ‘Bear Smart Community’ programme (communities with effective management of human-bear conflicts) in communities in the Făgăraș Mountains area. This concept, which has been successfully applied in the United States and Canada for a long time, encourages the association and cooperation of people, communities and all authorities involved to reduce human-bear conflicts.
The responsibility for managing these conflicts lies with all parties, and to be effective it is important to involve everyone: authorities, communities and citizens.
Foundation Conservation Carpathia and its partners are already acting through a series of measures structured around three levels: prevention, intervention and compensation.
