The LIFE Courel Bear Project “Actions to promote the expansion of the brown bear to new territories in the Serra do Courel (Galicia, Spain)” is being developed under the coordination of the Brown Bear Foundation, from July 2017 to December 2020, together with the Xunta de Galicia and the Galician Association of Land Stewardship as associated beneficiaries. It is funded by the European Union’s LIFE programme and is supported by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Naturgy.

The general objective of the project is to promote the long-term conservation of the Cantabrian bear population, facilitating its expansion. The specific objectives are to improve the availability of food and connectivity in the Serra do Courel, prevent potential conflicts between bears and human activities and promote information and awareness among the local population.

To achieve these objectives, the project proposes a series of actions such as:

– Protection of apiaries against bear attacks through the provision of electric shepherds, technical support to beekeepers and restoration of traditional albarizas.

– Cleaning and clearing of more than 100 hunting posts to improve visibility during hunts, avoiding the risk of accidental bear mortality and favouring cooperation with the hunters’ collective.

– Planting of 100,000 native trees and shrubs producing fruits for the bear, forming small groves distributed throughout the territory, on farms or mountains through land stewardship agreements with their owners.

– Improvement of vegetation cover in the vicinity of the A6 motorway and other infrastructures.

– Informative meetings and collaboration with social actors in the territory, sectoral exchanges with other areas with bears, environmental education campaign for more than 750 schoolchildren, planting days with about 300 volunteers, design and promotion of an interpretive route on the bear and honey and other varied information and awareness actions.

The project includes the signing of collaboration agreements with social organizations and entities in the area, and the hiring of local people and companies for the development of work such as plantations or clearing.

Until September 2018, the project has focused on informing and raising awareness, explaining to beekeepers, farmers, hunters and neighbors the challenges and opportunities of living with bears. 13 sectoral meetings and a demonstration trip have been held in which more than 180 social actors from the territory have participated, and 50 apiaries have been protected by distributing electric shepherds to beekeepers and training in beehive protection practices. A campaign to clean up hunting posts has begun in collaboration with those responsible for the hunting grounds. The seed collection campaign has made it possible to start the production of 25,000 locally sourced cherry trees for future plantations. And an intense information and dissemination campaign has been developed in the media, website and social networks. In later phases of the project, awareness-raising efforts will continue and work on improving the habitat will be addressed.