The bear has no place in a settlement!
Csaba Borboly: it is the responsibility of the state to protect biodiversity and sustainably conserve the brown bear population
The coexistence of humans and large carnivores is a topical issue, especially in Harghita County, and increasingly at the national level as well.
In this regard, in order to find solutions that contribute to the conservation of biodiversity and the protection of public interest, the Harghita County Council, with the limited means at its disposal, has developed several proposals to the competent Ministry, with the involvement of experts in the field.
The issue of biodiversity protection and coexistence with large carnivores was raised by Csaba Borboly to Janusz Wojciechowski, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, at the Committee of the Regions meeting on 20 June.
At the same time, Csaba Borboly, President of the Harghita County Council and member of the European Committee of the Regions, has prepared two reports on coexistence with large carnivores and biodiversity conservation.
The report on Biodiversity Protection and Coexistence with Large Carnivores in Europe is available here: https://cor.europa.eu/ro/our-work/Pages/OpinionTimeline.aspx?opId=CDR-5585-2023.
The Harghita County Council considers that the Ministry of Environment, Water and Forestry has the duty and responsibility to manage and protect the brown bear species in a way that does not endanger human life and property.
A road accident in Sandominic resulted in damage to a car caused by a bear that had strayed onto the road.
The Ministry of Environment, Water Management and Forestry does not take responsibility in this case, but delegates it to the Harghita County Council as the manager of the county road 125.
Csaba Borboly, President of the Harghita County Council, stressed that the situation cannot be addressed by transferring responsibility between institutions, but by concrete measures.
– First of all, such road accidents should not take place, the Romanian state has the responsibility to manage and protect the living environment, to preserve biodiversity and to protect human life and property. The question is: why does the Ministry of the Environment not cooperate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to have separate funds in the Common Agricultural Policy for the prevention of damage caused by bears, as in other Member States? The CAP contains funds earmarked for this purpose. I will be raising this question today in plenary session of the Committee of the Regions during my debate on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy. Europe is aware of the gravity of the situation, and Romania in particular must be aware of it,” stressed Csaba Borboly.
Csaba Borboly added that during the mandate of RMDSZ Senator Barna Tánczos, significant steps have been taken, but not enough, as evidenced by the numerous weekly alerts on the presence of bears in the countryside.
