Bear Watch

The project aims to improve community involvement in the area of the ecotourism destination ‘’Băile Tușnad and Surroundings’ (ro: ’Băile Tușnad și Împrejurimile’; BTI) in public decision-making processes in the context of harmonious coexistence between man and bear through participatory tools and watchdog activities. The basic problem is that Băile Tușnad lacks the strategy for evaluating and monitoring prevention methods against the damage caused by the brown bear, and the capacity of the local mayor’s office is not sufficient to include local civil society, NGOs and tourists to the problem-solving process.

The project proposes solutions to this problem through activities such as mapping the current situation and proposing factual solutions for local people on how to evaluate, monitor and improve the effectiveness of damage prevention methods; making available to the public a visitor’s point on bear-bear coexistence; organizing and actively involving the public in an advocacy campaign to develop a local damage prevention strategy; implementing brand and event regulations in the town.

Within the project an online watchdog platform (mobile app) will be developed to serve as a communication and monitoring tool in the context of environmental issues. At the same time, an offline platform (thematic conference) will be organized in 2022 and 2023 within the TusnadEcoBearFest event, dedicated to the promotion and awareness of human-bear coexistence with the involvement of professional and civil society. During the project 4 video spots will be implemented about human-bear coexistence in the target area including its challenges but also its solutions. Extracurricular activities will be implemented targeting middle schools around the BTI ecotourism destination, as well as in the TusnadEcoBearFest events in September, coordinated by the partner Vox Iuvenitutis, which brings significant experience and expertise in non-formal education, and in mobilizing the younger generation. The City Hall of Băile Tusnad provides indoor and outdoor spaces for the implementation of activities, offers experience and expertise in developing the strategy and contributes to citizen mobilization. The applicant benefits organizational development through communication and public relations training, volunteer management and exchange of thematic experience.

The Active Citizens Fund Romania programme is funded through the EEA Grants 2014-2021. The overall objective of the Grants is to reduce economic and social disparities, and to strengthen bilateral relations between 15 beneficiary countries and the Donor States (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway). The programme is administered by a consortium composed of Civil Society Development Foundation, Romanian Environmental Partnership Foundation, Resource Center for Roma Communities, PACT Foundation and Frivillighet Norge, acting as Fund Operator designated by FMO – Financial Mechanism Office of the EEA and Norway Grants.

The objectives of the Active Citizens Fund Romania are to strengthen civil society and active citizenship and to empower vulnerable groups. With a total allocation of 46,000,000 euro, the programme pursues a long-term development of the civil society sector sustainability and capacity, stepping up its role in promoting democratic participation, active citizenship and human rights, while strengthening bilateral relations with organizations from the Donor States, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.