The mountain forests of Montenegro – dense, dark and deep – are home not only to hikers, shepherds and mushroom pickers, but also to large carnivores that were here long before us. In recent months, more and more residents from the northern regions have been reporting damage caused by brown bears: overturned beehives, livestock torn apart, claw marks on trees right next to properties, frequent encounters… These are not isolated cases, but signs that the boundary between the human and wild world is becoming increasingly thin. Such encounters often awaken fear, but also invite reflection: how to move forward so that no one loses?

In the context of increasingly frequent reports of damage caused by large carnivores throughout Montenegro, a regional workshop was held in Plužine as part of the Dinaric-Balkan-Pindos (DiBaPi) initiative, focused on improving human-large carnivore coexistence. The hosts and participants – representatives of the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, the Environmental Protection Agency, Piva Nature Park and the NGO Dinarides Parks – hosted colleagues from Croatia, Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania, as well as representatives of WWF Adria and the DiBaPi platform Secretariat.

The Dinaric-Balkan-Pindos region is considered one of the biologically richest areas in Europe. It is the habitat of the brown bear, wolf, lynx and golden jackal – four large carnivores that recognise no borders of states, languages or administrations. For this very reason, their conservation and population management is only possible through coordinated, transnational action, according to a statement from the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development.

The DiBaPi initiative, launched with the support of the German Environment Agency, aims to create a permanent platform for information exchange, develop joint mechanisms for monitoring and protecting these species, and strengthen the capacities of institutions and experts throughout the region.