Cerová vrchovina PLA & Bükk NP

On the Hungarian side of the pilot area, the team, supported by the ASP Bükk National Park Directorate and Bükk Mammal Research Group Association, used modelling performed with previously gathered data to designate monitoring sites that were best suited to provide crucial information on the routes of migratory wildlife. The methods deployed in the field encompassed linear transect methods, camera trapping, acoustic monitoring and the evaluation of data received from third parties, such as roadkill incidents. On the Slovak half of the pilot area, the mapping was realised by local experts, who sought to verify the permeability of migration corridors previously identified in digital modelling.

One of the most important source of human-wildlife conflict in the pilot area was found to be the highways, in particular the new road segment of the M30 highway connecting Miskolc with Košice, and the R2 expressway from Trenčín to Košice, which is currently under construction. The expressway, once completed, will be located on the border of the Pannonian and Alpine bioregions and is likely to significantly affect the spread of large carnivores from Slovakia to Hungary if no adequate mitigation measures are implemented. Aside from the intensively used roads, the increasing number of fences being erected throughout the landscape is becoming a growing threat to the ecological permeability of the area.

The fieldwork on the ground was accompanied by efforts to engage with local stakeholders in the pilot area to convince the wider public of the importance of ecological connectivity for effective biodiversity conservation. The team also engaged in direct discussions with relevant local authorities and decision makers and involved them in the drafting of an action plan of measures to be implemented in the pilot area as a follow-up to the work performed under ConnectGREEN. In the Hungarian section of the pilot area, the project partner MATE University sat down with numerous mayors to discuss the needs and challenges that they see in their communities in the future, and together sought to find joint solutions that took into account the demands of both the people and wildlife in the area.

On the Slovak side of the pilot area, the ConnectGREEN Methodology on the Identification of Ecological Corridors proved a very valuable resource welcomed by many actors met in the course of the project. It has allowed for the implementation of important measures that the authorities in question would not otherwise have had the time or resources to identify, explore and test. Along with other project results, the Methodology provides valuable information and arguments to defend the interests of nature protection in spatial planning.

The monitoring under ConnectGREEN has confirmed that large carnivores are returning to Hungary through Slovakia - while a major conservation success, this also requires proper preparation of local citizens, foresters, hunters, farmers, as well as the managers of the area’s national parks. Close collaboration is needed to ensure a harmonious coexistence in the future. ConnectGREEN has made an important step in this regard by identifying the ecological corridors running through the pilot area. These must be granted greater protection and be integrated into spatial planning to ensure their long-term preservation.