I am an outdoorsman, podcaster and speaker. I talk and write about the natural environment, biodiversity, conservation, hunting and fishing, rewilding and more. I am particularly interested in wildlife and human-wildlife interactions. I enjoy reading scientific papers on those subjects as much as being outdoors weathering the elements and getting first-hand experiences.
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EU Wolves and the Conservation Success Conundrum
Published 3 months ago • 3 min read
Conservation and Science
Those of you who have been with me for at least a year will remember that, almost to the day, one year ago I wrote a blog post titled 'Let's Talk About Europe's Wolf Protection Laws'. This was a natural continuation of the topic of lowering the protection status of wolves in the EU that I've been covering from the very beginning. In that blog, I was making the point that there are both good and bad outcomes possible and that the discussion of this topic in the media and in stakeholder circles is far from sensible and balanced. On the contrary, opinions expressed varied from ecstatic to hysterical with very little in between.
Fast forward to the present day, the law is being implemented by the member states but the tone of the comments hasn't changed. I suppose, keeping with the spirit of the times, there is an absence of critical analysis and balanced views on the topic. And so, I was delighted to see an article in the Stockholm Resilience Centre titled 'Time to stop crying wolf – on both sides of the debate'. The article was based on the open access paper (linked below) where the authors argue that conservation policy is stuck in a crisis mindset designed for species on the brink of extinction, which no longer fits the reality of wolf conservation in the EU. They call for pragmatism from all sides and advocate for policies grounded in scientific evidence, adaptive management and transparent dialogue.
So, I immediately did what I always do and contacted the lead author of the paper, Dr Hanna Pettersson, and invited her for a chat, as the topic is close to my (and hopefully your) interests. It also makes the point that the debate on this topic is frustrating and, quite frankly, immature (my words, not the authors).
To cap off this newsletter with the wolf topic, I'm bringing you this year's final instalment of the replay series where I would like to rebroadcast my conversation with the brilliant Helen Arusoo, an Estonian nature journalist and the leader of the National Animal Working Group, where we talk about how Estonia manages its coexistence with wolves.
EU Wolves and the Conservation Success Conundrum
Can we find a middle ground between those who see the EU's wolf downlisting as a catastrophe and those who celebrate it as good news? The debate around wolf conservation in the EU has become frustratingly polarised, with both sides 'crying wolf' about the consequences of changing protection status. It's time to step back and look at the evidence.
When dealing with controversial subjects like this, it is important to be factual and follow the evidence. So I was delighted to have the opportunity to talk about it with Dr Hanna Pettersson, one of the most prominent early career voices in interdisciplinary conservation. Hanna is the lead author of a paper titled 'Now What? The Conundrum of Successful Recovery of Wolves and Other Species for European Conservation', co-authored with Professor Erica von Essen, who was also a guest on the acclaimed episode 163.
During our conversation, we discuss the success conundrum in conservation, the difference between ecological and social carrying capacity, and why we need to think about future pathways rather than looking back. We also talk about the role of legal hunting in reducing poaching and the importance of working with local communities who have lived alongside wolves for generations. Of course, there are larger systemic issues underneath and we don't shy away from discussing those as well, including inequality as a driver of biodiversity loss.
Coexistence with Wolves in Estonia with Helen Arusoo
On my podcast, we talk a lot about coexistence with large carnivores and the challenges it poses. Some of those challenges might seem insurmountable to some. To shed some light on overcoming these hurdles, I contacted Helen Arusoo, an Estonian nature journalist and the leader of the National Animal Working Group. In this conversation, we talk about how Estonia overcame these hurdles and created something that I would consider the gold standard of coexistence with large carnivores.
Unsurprisingly, the majority of our time was spent discussing wolves as they seem to be the most difficult carnivore species to coexist with, at least in the northern hemisphere. However, we did discuss other large carnivores like bears too. Our conversation focused mostly on social and cultural factors. We also touched on the European Commission’s proposal to lower the protection status of wolves, something we’ve discussed extensively in one of the previous episodes.
It was a wonderful conversation and I enjoyed speaking with Helen. Her profound understanding of the challenges of coexistence is impressive. She presented a deeply thought-out perspective and I can only wish that more people who care about wolves could learn from her experience and the Estonian model of coexistence with large carnivores.
I am an outdoorsman, podcaster and speaker. I talk and write about the natural environment, biodiversity, conservation, hunting and fishing, rewilding and more. I am particularly interested in wildlife and human-wildlife interactions. I enjoy reading scientific papers on those subjects as much as being outdoors weathering the elements and getting first-hand experiences.
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