Csaba Borboly, on behalf of the Committee of the Regions, develops a new opinion on the coexistence of humans and large carnivores

At the 20th meeting of the European Committee of the Regions’ Committee on the Environment, Climate Change and Energy (ENVE), Csaba Borboly, President of the Harghita County Council, was given a new mandate to prepare an opinion on the coexistence of humans and large carnivores.

The new opinion is a continuation of 10 years of work by the President to find solutions to protect large carnivores and biodiversity and to ensure peaceful coexistence between humans and large carnivores.

“After a year of lobbying in Brussels, today, at the 20th meeting of the ENVE Committee, we have received a new mandate from the European Committee of the Regions to develop a new opinion on the issue of coexistence between humans and large carnivores. I can continue the work I started more than 10 years ago to work with experts to find the best solutions for peaceful coexistence and biodiversity conservation. In this opinion, I will try to show that the implementation of the Habitats Directive in some EU Member States is flawed, pointing out that human life must not be put at risk. The opinion will help us to see how funding is attracted, where it is going and how it can be used to have a real positive impact on the population, where EU funding in all its forms is not attracted and why it is not attracted. We have the support of the European political parties to develop a new opinion which will be presented to the CoR plenary in April 2024. I have been working as part of a team and will continue to work with the experts, but I will also listen to the suggestions and opinions of citizens and those directly concerned,” said Csaba Borboly.

The ministry has issued a number of regulations, but the situation on the ground shows that further action is needed. In recent years, the bear population has rised, forcing bears to migrate from their natural habitat and leading to increased interaction between humans and large predators, automatically leading to conflicts and reduced community safety.

Overpopulation can also affect biodiversity and the abandonment of traditional farming practices due to bear damage can lead to changes in land use.

For more information on the work of Csaba Borboly, President of the Harghita County Council, in the European Committee of the Regions, see: https://www.borbolycsaba.ro/ , https://hargitamegye.ro/nemzetkozi-tevekenysegek/

APPROVED OPINION

Working document

Background studies and documents:

– Large carnivore inphographic, source: CopaCocega

– Proposal for an own-initiative opinion: Biodiversity conservation and coexistence with large carnivores in Europe – challenges and opportunities for local and regional authorities

During the preparation phase of the opinion, the rapporteur and his expert will be invited to meet with representatives of the other EU institutions and Member States and other relevant stakeholders. At these meetings, the rapporteur can discuss his plans and objectives for the opinion and obtain useful feedback.