Csaba Borboly: Biodiversity Protection Can Only Succeed Together with Rural Communities

On 30 September, Csaba Borboly, Vice-President of Harghita County Council and Second Vice-Chair of the SEDEC Commission of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), took part in an event in the European Parliament organised by the Biodiversity, Hunting and Countryside Intergroup together with FACE (the European Federation for Hunting and Conservation). The event was attended by several Members of the European Parliament.

During the event, the University of Urbino presented its latest study, showing that hunting, sport shooting and related sectors contribute around €180 billion to the European economy each year and support more than 1.1 million jobs. According to Borboly, this is clear evidence of what he already underlined in his CoR opinion on large carnivores: these are not only environmental issues, but also social and economic ones.

“Biodiversity protection can only be successful if it goes hand in hand with the everyday life of rural and mountain communities. In areas where large carnivore populations are stable or even overpopulated, conflicts increase if EU law is applied solely as strict protection without flexibility,” Borboly emphasised.

He pointed to Romania as an example, where the challenge is no longer to save populations, but to manage them. If this is not addressed, the result will be more damage, more fear, and unfortunately, more illegal killings.

Borboly highlighted that the study presented in the European Parliament is particularly important because it provides evidence that hunting and related sectors bring real value to jobs, trade, and rural communities. “It confirms that conservation and rural economies must be linked if we want real, long-term success,” he added.

During the event, Borboly was also invited to strengthen cooperation with colleagues in France and FACE. “This is the right way forward: we need common solutions – to protect biodiversity where it is still vulnerable, but also to enable active management where overpopulation exists,” he said.

According to Borboly, the Habitats Directive has been applied with good results so far, but conflicts will continue to arise. That is why cooperation and practical, joint solutions are essential for the future.