How Can We Co-Exist With More Large Carnivores?

Jan Arne Stokmo

2025-03-28T09:10:00.0000000 2025-03-28T13:33:52.6000000

Wolf photographed by a camera trap in Norway in February 2023. Photo credit: Viltkamera.nina.no

Over the past 30 to 40 years, large carnivores such as the brown bear and wolf have made a comeback across many parts of Europe, with populations growing significantly in several EU countries. This is partly due to conservation legislation like the Bern Convention and the EU Habitats Directive. In addition, changes in wildlife and agricultural management have created more favorable conditions for prey species such as deer and wild boar.

Old Conflicts Resurfacing

As carnivores return to landscapes inhabited by people, ancient conflicts are reignited—loss of livestock, and concerns over human safety.

The Co-creating Coexistence (CoCo) project is exploring what sustainable solutions exist for living together in today’s European landscapes. Researchers will gather knowledge from 12 European countries, including Norway, with particular attention given to the experiences of those directly affected by these challenges, such as livestock farmers, hunters, and other rural residents.

Reduced Protection for Wolves

The project begins at a time of change. On Friday, March 7, it was decided that the wolf's status under the Bern Convention will be downgraded from "strictly protected" to "protected." The EU has also initiated the process of amending the Habitats Directive accordingly. These changes give countries more flexibility in managing wolf populations, allowing for actions such as culling problematic individuals and setting hunting quotas. For many, this represents an additional tool for improving coexistence between humans and large carnivores.

“This does not change anything regarding Norway’s obligations to ensure the survival of wolves within our borders. However, it means that wolf management, should Norwegian legislation be amended, could be carried out similarly to the current lynx management model—with quota-regulated hunting—effectively classifying wolves as a huntable species,” explains Dr. John Linnell, senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) and head of the CoCo project.

Sustainable Harvesting

For many European countries, this marks a significant shift. They have enforced strict protection of wolves for decades and lack experience managing wolves as a huntable species.

Countries will still be responsible for meeting their own conservation targets, and the new status for wolves as a huntable species must be exercised with caution, as increased hunting is likely to be controversial in many contexts.

“Ensuring sustainable hunting will require considerable investment in population monitoring and robust institutions,” says Linnell.

Can Others Learn from Norway?

Norway’s extensive experience with the management and hunting of large carnivores—especially wolves and bears—is now becoming highly relevant to other European countries.

Norway’s limited political targets for the national wolf population size will likely remain controversial, particularly since a case against Norway is currently open under the Bern Convention.

“Nonetheless, there is no doubt that Norway has developed a very sophisticated system for monitoring, managing, and researching large carnivores. NINA has been a key provider of data and expertise in this field for decades,” says Linnell.

The Value of Local Knowledge

This knowledge forms part of the CoCo project, in which NINA and the University of Inland Norway are Norwegian partners. The project aims to inform policy as the focus shifts from how to prevent the extinction of large carnivores to how to live with a conservation success story.

The project seeks to bridge the gap between wildlife management and livestock farming in Europe. But instead of starting from the perspective of wildlife needs, the work is centered around the experiences of livestock owners.

“We will listen to a range of local voices and lived experiences across Europe. Our goal is to design sustainable coexistence models that build from the bottom up, and balance those perspectives with top-down policy, which has dominated until now. We aim to give local perspectives and experience equal weight to academic approaches,” says Linnell.

“We cannot promise simple answers—but we can ensure that a diversity of perspectives is given a voice in the discussion,” he concludes.

Contact: John Linnell, Senior Researcher

Read more on the project website here

About the CoCo Project:

• The Co-creating Coexistence project launched in February 2025 and includes 17 partner organizations.
• The project aims to collect and integrate local perspectives and experiences into models for sustainable livestock farming in coexistence with various wildlife species.
• Led by the University of Inland Norway, with NINA as a Norwegian partner.
• Runs through December 2027 and is funded by the EU Horizon Europe programme.
• Brings together an interdisciplinary team of researchers, policymakers, livestock producers, and other stakeholders from 12 countries: France, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Germany.

NINA opens Centre for Biodiversity Genetics

Jan Arne Stokmo

2022-10-25T13:07:00.0000000 2022-10-25T14:53:35.6400000

The official opening of NINAGEN was carried out by State Secretary Aleksander Øren Heen from the Ministry of Climate and Environment. Present at the opening were many of the users of NINA's genetic laboratory services.

Strengthens nature monitoring

All living things have their own unique DNA profile and access to these ‘biological nametags’ opens up a new world of possibilities for efficiently gathering knowledge about individuals, species and ecosystems. Genetic analyses have become an increasingly important part of contemporary nature management and NINA has a long track record of suppling genetic data and its conclusion to government and industry.

– DNA analyses have become a key tool in natural resource management and assignments from the government and other institutions are only increasing. Today we are opening a new, modern laboratory and establishing a new centre of competence to meet this growing demand, says Norunn S. Myklebust, managing director of NINA.

DNA has many uses

NINAGEN delivers genetic services to many areas of nature management. For example, DNA analyses are used when monitoring populations of Scandinavian carnivores, including brown bears, wolverines, wolves and golden eagles.

NINAGEN also uses DNA to monitor the condition of wild salmonid fishes in Norway and for example to quantify the degree of hybridization between wild and farmed salmon in Norwegian rivers.

With Environmental DNA, NINAGEN can simultaneously identify the presence of hundreds of species from only a small sample of water or soil. This methodology can also be used to assess the diets of individual animals via genetic analysis of fecal samples.

– New applications for the use of DNA in monitoring and research are continually emerging, and among others, have been implemented by NINAGEN staff in the management of deer, salamander, insect and plant populations. NINA stands at the cutting edge of this work, says Myklebust.

NINAGEN – a national centre of competence

The Centre for Biodiversity Genetics in Trondheim consists of several geneticists and researchers from various disciplines. Together with a team of experienced laboratory technicians, the centre forms a unique research platform, which can deliver a broad portfolio of genetic analyses. This capability is strengthened by a close collaboration with NINA's many ecologists and taxonomic specialists.

The centre provides services across terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems, and in organism groups ranging from insects and plants to birds and mammals.

Genetic diversity is very important

– Genetic variation is a key part of biological diversity and is critical for the survival and adaptation of all species. This is more relevant than ever given the rapid pace of environmental change that is unfolding around the world. In this respect, NINAGEN will work efficiently to meet the increasing demand for genetic services, says Frode Fossøy, senior researcher at NINA.

For a research field that is constantly advancing due to technological development, NINAGEN will ensure that contemporary knowledge and methodology are efficiently implemented in Norwegian natural resource management.

Read more about NINAGEN on our new website (link)

Contact persons in NINA: 

Norunn S. Myklebust, managing director of NINA
Jonas Kindberg, head of Rovdata 
Frode Fossøy, senior researcher at NINA