TusnadEcoBear Event 2025

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We are pleased to announce that we have opened registration for the TusnadEcoBear Event (21-24.10.2025)

We warmly invite you the Băile Tușnad and Surroundings Ecotourism destination

The aim of the conference is to bring together a variety of views, competences and experiences from various experts from Europe and beyond, on the topic of human-large carnivores coexistence. The discussions shall foster the generation of practical and viable solutions for reducing human-wildlife conflicts in human dominated landscapes.The conference seeks to identify the current level of knowledge regarding the management of brown bear populations across Europe, as well as best and negative practices. The interaction between key international experts and young participants is highly encouraged in order to build capacity in terms of coping with future challenges (including the ones derived from climate change).

Conference Sessions (21-22 October 2025)

Carnivore Conservation in Multi-Use Landscapes
Keywords: connectivity, habitat fragmentation, wildlife corridors, agriculture, urbanization, land-use, traditional ecological knowledge, livestock practices/predation/prevention, tourism, human-wildlife conflict, coexistence strategies, protected areas, ecosystem services, anthropogenic pressure, conservation policy.
Carnivore Ecology in a Changing World: Climate and Habitat Challenges
Keywords: climate change impacts, habitat loss, ecosystem restoration, movement ecology, species migration, resilience & adaptation, land-use change, rewilding, human-wildlife interactions.
Hunting, Population Management and Conservation: Balancing Ethics & Management Needs
Keywords: wildlife/game species management, sustainable hunting, population control, conservation ethics, trophy hunting, hunting regulations, ecological balance, overpopulation impacts, trophic cascades, adaptive management, non-lethal management, wildlife crime (wildlife trade & poaching), BET, supplementary feeding, habituation, food conditioning, related policy & governance.
Local Community and Local Economy Roles in Carnivore Conservation
Keywords: community based conservation, biodiversity-based economy, sustainable livelihoods, human-wildlife coexistence, compensation schemes, wildlife-friendly practices, livestock protection measures, misbeliefs, fake news, klickbait, cultural attitudes, bear smart, stakeholders presentations, ecotourism, business plans, citizen science, education, traditional ecological knowledge, participatory conservation, local governance, conflict mitigation, policy and community engagement, conservation funding, nature-based solutions.
Camera Traps, AI and Drones: The Future of Carnivore Research & Conflict Prevention
Keywords: AI, camera traps, drones, conservation technology, predictive analytics, BET, training, wildlife monitoring, carnivore research, human-wildlife conflict, Remote sensing, machine learning in ecology, non-invasive monitoring, non-lethal management, genetics, automated species identification, poaching detection, behavioural analysis, GIS & spatial analysis, conflict mitigation strategies, wildlife-smart tools, biodiversity assessment.
Presentation Details
Regular presentation: 15 minutes + 5 minutes for questions and discussions.
Panel presentations (for invited speakers only): 45 minutes + 15 minutes for questions and discussions.
Size of posters presented: A0.

Additional Programs

Panel (22.10.25)
Topic: Can Humans and Large Carnivores share a Cultural Landscape?
Field trip & on-site Workshop (23.10.25)
Location: Mohos Peat Bog – Lake Saint Anne Natura 2000 site (ROSCI0248)
Field trip topic: Tourism and human-bear conflicts
Workshop topic: Knowledge-sharing workshop on bear-smart business plans
Transportation: organized bus trip
Workshop day (24.10.25) – Participation is by invitation only, whereas the audience may attend freely:
1. Stakeholder Workshop / Participatory Stakeholder & Coalition meeting (led by the Institute of Wildlife Biology and Game Management, BOKU University, Austria)
2. Designing potential scenarios for collaboration between pastoralism and wildlife management (led by the Research and Development Institute for Wildlife and Mountain Resources, Miercurea Ciuc, Romania)
3. Additional workshops on the Conference topic

Registration Information

Registration deadline for presenters: 01 July 2025
Press and audience registration deadline: 01 October 2025

Contact Information – Organizers

Event organisation, venue, accommodation, logistics:
István Imecs – Project Bag Association
+40 743 775 213 / asociatiaprojectbag@gmail.com

Program, scientific content, speakers, and topics:
Alexandra Sallay Mosoi – WWF Romania
+40 728 424 667 / asallay@wwf.ro

Facilitator: workshop from the Co-Co project:
Mihai I. Pop – WWF Romania
+40 740 201 079 / popmihai@icdcrm.ro

Content and editing of the Book of Abstracts:
Nándor Erős
+40 756 306 431 / erosnandi@gmail.com

Event Venue: Hotel O3zone [P1] (Aleea Sfânta Ana 2, RO-535100 Băile Tușnad, Romania)

Previous Conference Materials

The organizers reserve the right to alter the program without prior notice.

The conference is organised as part of the CERV project (101146879) „Coexisting with bears – Conservation needs Conversation!” funded by the European Union and implemented with the support of the ProjectBag Association (Destination Management Unit – Băile Tușnad and Surroundings ecotourism destination), Mayor’s Office of Băile Tușnad, WWF-Romania, , WWF Bulgaria, WWF Hungary, BOKU University, Austria) and New Horizons Bulgaria.

The conference is also supported by the „TusnadEcoBear: Connect & Conserve” project, which receives funding from Bears in Mind foundation, and by the “Co-creating coexistence: Advancing policies, practices, and stakeholder engagement for integrating wildlife and livestock into sustainable multi-functional landscapes in Europe” project funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe – Research and Innovation programme (grant agreement No. 101181958).