More than 300 scientists, wildlife management professionals, public authorities, park representatives, organisations, and representatives of local communities from around the world gathered in Pescasseroli, in the Central Apennines. The 29th International Conference on Bear Research and Management focused on bridging science with practical implementation and the involvement of local communities.

The LIFE Bear-Smart Corridors project teams and partners played a central role in the event, presenting the project’s results to an international audience from Eurasia and the Americas. Sessions on Bear-Smart Communities, prevention, local governance, and tourism, together with field visits to communities in the Apennines, connected the project’s results with their practical, day-to-day implementation.

Three main contributions came from Greece:

-Results of the LIFE Bear-Smart Corridors project in Greece. The project’s results were presented for the two areas in Greece where its activities were implemented. Particular emphasis was placed on the importance of the Canadian “Bear-Smart Communities” model and on adapting its principles to the realities of two Southern European countries.

-Bear Emergency Teams. The results of six teams operating in Greece and Italy were presented. Between 2022 and 2026, a total of 424 interventions involving bear–human interactions were recorded, 57 of which concerned emergency incidents.

-Participatory technology design. A workshop organised and coordinated by Callisto explored how monitoring and management tools can be designed together with the people who will ultimately use them.

The conference experience confirmed that successful coexistence requires stable local mechanisms, the mobilisation and active participation of local communities, and continuous monitoring of results. When practical implementation meets international scientific dialogue, data, practical challenges, and the experiences of local communities can be examined together.

Callisto was represented at the Conference by the organisation’s General Coordinator, Spyros Psaroudas, and Dr Dimitris Borboudakis, PhD in Biodiversity Management.