The lynx parliament in the Northern Vosges regional natural park

M. Wagner
Published: 01 May 2020
Last edited: 01 October 2020
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Summary

One of the objectives of the Northern Vosges Regional Natural Park's new charter is to ensure the continuous monitoring of characteristic species of some Northern Vosges habitats (rocks, forests, orchards, waterways, wetlands). The charter aims as well to work towards strengthening the lynx population and acceptance by the inhabitants, at a transboundary level.

 

The lynx parliament brings together all the stakeholders concerned by the lynx on the territory of the Park. In that way, each actor made proposals to improve lynx acceptance. 

Classifications

Region
West and South Europe
Scale of implementation
Local
Ecosystem
Forest ecosystems
Temperate evergreen forest
Theme
Connectivity / transboundary conservation
Geodiversity and Geoconservation
Local actors
Outreach & communications
Poaching and environmental crime
Protected and conserved areas governance
Protected and conserved areas management planning
Species management
Challenges
Loss of Biodiversity
Conflicting uses / cumulative impacts
Ecosystem loss
Poaching
Changes in socio-cultural context
Lack of public and decision maker’s awareness
Poor governance and participation
Social conflict and civil unrest
Sustainable development goals
SDG 15 – Life on land
SDG 17 – Partnerships for the goals
Aichi targets
Target 2: Biodiversity values integrated
Target 12: Reducing risk of extinction
Target 14: Ecosystem services
Target 17: Biodiversity strategies and action plans
Target 19: Sharing information and knowledge
Business engagement approach
Direct engagement with associations

Location

La Petite-Pierre, Bas-Rhin, France | Northern Vosges regional natural park, Vosges du Nord - Pfälzerwald Transboundary Biosphere Reserve
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Challenges

The main challenge is the resolution of a conflict between various stakeholders.

Beneficiaries

Hunter, farmer, forester, forest user, elected local, environmental NGO

How do the building blocks interact?

Mediation with hunters is one of the priorities set by the lynx parliament. Hunters are informed of the progress of reintroduction operations in the Palatinate in the same way as members of parliament. The Park reports to the Parliament on the progress of the mediation actions with the hunting sector. Representatives of the hunters are members of parliament, so the information circulates well. There is a close link between these two projects.

Impacts

The stakeholders meet at least once a year to monitor the implementation of each party's commitments. These annual or extraordinary meetings aim at initiating the dialog by providing a space for exchanging and communicating information, in a respectful manner, between hunters representatives, scientists and park managers, on lynx releases in particular, but also on the LIFE programme updates. Sometimes, scientists are also invited to present their work on lynx or other topics. Each session is also an opportunity to assess progress on each member's commitments, and to invite various medias to enquire about the lynx for wider communication. It all contributes to establishing transparency regarding information sharing, which is another important objective of the Parliament. 

Each member of this governance structure present proposals, to be first validated by the other members. The approved ones are then submitted to the Prefect, the regional representative of the French State, by the Park authorities.

Contributed by

g.hirlemann_37956's picture

Gabriel HIRLEMANN Regional Nature Park of the Vosges du Nord

Other contributors

Jean Claude Genot
Northern Vosges regional natural park