FOUNDATION CONSERVATION CARPATHIA CARPATHIA CONSERVATION FOUNDATION Annual Report 2019 2009-2019 Contents Foreword 6 Conservation 9 Ecological 31 Wildlife 45 Outreach and 75 Conservation 107 Financial report 133 restoration Programme Communication Enterprise Programme Introduction 10 Objectives and philosophy of 32 Introduction 47 Introduction 76 Introduction 108 Income sources 134 FCC’s restoration programme Endangered Landscapes 11 Ecological restoration facts 36 Wildlife conservation 52 Timber industry – NGO platform 78 Food hub and other preparations 110 Expenses 136 Programme/EU-LIFE 2019 Reintroducing bison 55 A glimpse of major events 80 Cobor Biodiversity Farm 113 Land purchase 16 during the past year Wildlife management 60 Wildlife hides 125 Plans for 2020 139 Conservation easements 18 Volunteers 99 Wildlife monitoring 66 Next steps 140 Forest watch 20 Education centre and activities 100 Leaota 24 Awards 104 Râul Târgului – Argeșel – 28 Râușor Natura 2000 site FOUNDATION CONSERVATION CARPATHIA ANNUAL REPORT Foreword by Barbara & Christoph Promberger Executive Directors of FCC FCC has grown organically as an increase in human - wildlife conflicts basis, but involving the corporate organisation and we are now in a in parts of our hunting concessions; companies means also involving situation where we are earning the due to a combination of different all their employees, who become fruits of the hard work of the previous factors including warmer winters ambassadors for the National Park years: throughout 2019, we could rely and less snow, a lack of beech mast idea. on 23 different funding sources. This during the last years, and possibly makes our situation very stable and other factors, wild boar numbers And last, but not least, the we do not depend on the well-being have soared and bear behaviour international political situation is of one or two individual donors or seems to have changed. This has also moving in a good direction: fear running into financial problems led to a situation in which boars the new European Commission has if one of our funding streams should and bears increasingly showed announced the Green Deal, which end. At times, where most Romanian up around the villages, destroyed will lead to political development conservation NGOs struggle to pastureland, and killed livestock. coherent with FCC’s proposals. We survive, we are in an excellent Despite the establishment of our are convinced, that this will bring a position. rapid intervention teams, damage on lot of support for nature and forest a local level became very frequent conservation. At the start of the ELP activities with consequent strong local and first stakeholder meetings with opposition against wildlife in one of Thank you for supporting the work local communities, we encountered the communities. A local outbreak of of FCC, enjoy reading through the a difficult situation with some of the African Swine Fever didn’t help chapters of our work in 2019! the local communities: some groups much either and contributed to the of people, who have economic or negative attitude towards wildlife. personal interests in opposing our Despite all that, however, a study by © Enya Promberger National Park concept, started a our Newfoundland colleague Prof. Dr. campaign against FCC by spreading Alistair Bath showed that attitudes incorrect information and scaring of local residents towards bison After an absence of more than two been already beneficiary of a local communities with erroneous reintroduction are very positive with centuries, the first bison arrived LIFE project from 2012 - 2019 and rumours of restrictions of a National over 75% of the people welcoming back in the Făgăraș Mountains in in early 2019 submitted a second Park. This resulted in some of the the return of the bison. This suggests, November 2019: four animals were project. January was an intense mayors or presidents of land-owner that local people are generally transported from a wildlife park period with finalising the proposal associations, who had not yet met us, positive towards wildlife, just want in Germany and moved into our and the rest of the year was busy refusing to even talk to us. The good the problems to be resolved. We quarantine and acclimatisation spent preparing for the start of the news, however, was that in those are positive that once our wildlife enclosures in Dâmbovita Valley, project. In November, all outstanding villages where we have been active management is fully up and running followed by another seven bison questions had been answered and for years and where people know us, and measures of prevention, from Poland. This is a monumental we could sign the contract for the these false rumours had little effect damage control, and innovative milestone in restoring the Făgăraș largest LIFE project in the history and these anti-groups weren’t taken compensation are taking effect, this Mountains to their full ecological of the European Union. In parallel, seriously. This highlights the trust we area can develop into a model region capacity and only the prelude to we started implementation for the have built in recent years and the for human - wildlife coexistence. reintroductions in other parts of our project financed by the Endangered positive image FCC continues to gain project area. By the end of 2019 we Landscape Programme. With through its work. But it also shows Another important milestone during had everything prepared to release these two contracts (and dozens that there is still a lot of work to do the last year was the development the bison in May 2020 into the wild. of additional supporting charities, and that we also need to develop of a much closer link to Romanian private donors, and corporates), our activities in those communities where corporations. We have hired a The European Union has a project has now achieved financial we are yet to be recognised. corporate relations manager in April funding instrument called LIFE to stability for the next five years and and the results of Cristina’s work are implement conservation measures can finance the majority of the Another issue which created stunning. This is not only positive in Natura 2000 areas. FCC has conservation masterplan’s activities. challenges was the dramatic with respect to a broader financial 6 7 ANNUAL REPORT Valea Tămașului, Făgăraș Mountains © Răzavan Rohan © Răzavan Mountains Făgăraș Tămașului, Valea Conservation Introduction 10 Endangered Landscapes Programme/EU-LIFE 11 Land purchase 16 Conservation Easements 18 Forest Watch 20 Leaota 24 Râul Târgului – Argeșel – Râușor Natura 2000 site 28 9 CONSERVATION ANNUAL REPORT Introduction Endangered Landscapes Programme/ EU-LIFE Our activities throughout the entire valleys to become active throughout In early 2019, we signed a five-year of the Oak Foundation, and other changes, we were invited for the CARPATHIA project have grown the Făgăraș Mountains, which will financing contract worth over US existing funds. We joined forces with kick-off meeting in Brussels in early tremendously during the last two put tens of thousands of hectares of $5m for the Endangered Landscapes ProPark Foundation, Conservation October, and finally signed the years and it has become a challenge additional land under protection. Programme (ELP), a conservation Capital, and the Argeș County contract in December. to stay on course with all these new programme administrated by the Gendarmerie to gain the expertise activities. Cambridge Conservation Initiative needed for the various activities. With a total amount of 27.6 and financed by Arcadia – a After we passed the first hurdle With the new activities we also charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and with our project concept in October million Euro and an EU developed a much larger team - Peter Baldwin. This was an important 2018, we were invited to submit a full contribution of 9.3 million more staff, more departments, and step towards implementing our new LIFE project proposal by the end of more external project partners, who masterplan, however the grant was January. Given the complexity and Euro, this is one of the then joined us in our initiative to not yet sufficient to cover all the size of the overall project, this was largest (if not the largest) create the European Yellowstone planned activities over an area of an extremely tight schedule and park. Consequently, we often had 250,000 hectares. required the input of a large team. LIFE project in the history to sit down and re-analyse the Some of the actions (out of a total of of the European Union. situation in order not to lose focus As mentioned in our previous annual 43 proposed activities), such as the and make sure the conservation of report, we have been planning from reintroduction of bison and beavers land and wildlife remains the core the beginning to complement the in three different localities, were We are proud for Romania and we of our activities. And we believe we ELP grant with a second EU-LIFE considerably larger than other full are proud for FCC! managed very well: project. Since there is no upper LIFE projects elsewhere. On January limit for a LIFE project, we decided 30th, 22 minutes prior to the final to put all our eggs in one basket deadline, and after 28 uninterrupted, In 2018 and 2019, we updated our and developed an appropriate extremely intense days and nights in conservation masterplan and now have LIFE application, which would fully January alone, we pressed the button cover our revised masterplan. The and uploaded the final version of the a well-structured work plan for the next necessary co-financing from our proposal. five years. side (in a project of this magnitude we were told we would have to In June, we received news from come up with over 60% co-funding) the Commission that the proposal The most important element of would consist of the ELP grant, needed some amendments and this plan was that we enlarged the funds available from the Wyss clarifications, but in principle it had original core area of Piatra Craiului Foundation and other donors for been accepted.