Platform news
You can find out more on the platform’s most recent meetings and outcomes here.
Overview
Platform location: France
Target species: Wolf (Canis lupus)
Main stakeholders: 59 Natural Parks – find an overview here
Co-organiser:Federation of Regional Natural Parks – find list of partners here
Co-financing: Federation of Regional Natural Parks and park’s own contributions
Context
The collaboration, on a different level from the local platforms aims to bring the French regional nature parks together to exchange experiences on the return of the wolf. This unique composition represents a mix of many different interests.
Regional Nature Parks are established to safeguard and enhance expansive, inhabited rural areas. They are predominantly rural landscapes with high-quality natural environments and cultural heritage, though their balance is delicate. Each park is centred around a collaborative sustainable development project aimed at protecting and enhancing their natural and cultural assets. The purpose of the Regional Nature Parks is to promote the economic and social development of the region, while preserving and enhancing its natural, cultural and landscape heritage. The richness of the Parks lies in the cross-disciplinary approach they adopt, integrating biodiversity issues into their regional projects.
Local elected representatives initiate and implement park policies. They work together through a joint management association. They act as the backbone of the parks, with regional and departmental representatives as key partners and regional and departmental councils as their financial supporters.
The collaboration among the parks was initiated in response to growing demand from elected representatives and parks located in areas colonised by wolves. Together with the wolf advisor to the Fédération des PNR, and the Parc des Baronnies provençales, they are organising these exchanges with the support of the regional platforms to seek strategies for coexistence.
The parks emphasise collaboration to adjust their stance on wolf presence, drawing from local initiatives and anticipating legal frameworks. They aim to share experiences and propose solutions based on these trials, addressing concerns from elected representatives and consider developing a motion on the new PNA Loup. The discussions focus on current initiatives, needs, and developing shared toolkits and language, potentially leading to collective developments at the park level.
Conflicts associated with large carnivores
- Different level of experiences with wolves: In some park areas, the wolf already returned 20 years ago, while others are being currently colonised, and the wolf is not present at all in some. The parks represent the range of conflicts around livestock protection and land use conflicts present in France.