New research projects on large predators in Poland

What should the research involve?

The WATAHA project of the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection - implementation of new research techniques in monitoring large predators in Poland - involves setting up hair traps for obtaining bear hair and collecting wolf excrement in designated areas. Urine, blood and material collected from dead animals will also be used for testing.

The value of the WATAHA project is EUR 4.7 million. It will be 100% financed. from the funds of the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism and the state budget - said Marek Pogorzelski, press spokesman for the Ministry of Climate and Environment, in an interview with the Polish Press Agency.

Preparatory work is currently underway to submit an application for funding, including substantive consultations and setting a schedule. Field activities are expected to last 39 months. Collection of bear hair is planned from April to October, and monitoring of lynxes and wolves is planned from November to February. Contractors responsible for genetic analyzes will be selected in tenders.

The project will be implemented in partnership with the General Directorate for Environmental Protection and the Norwegian partner - Rovdata, a unit of the Norwegian Institute of Nature Research that monitors the population of lynx, wolverine, brown bear, wolf and golden eagle in Norway - said Marek Pogorzelski.

Protection of large predators

In parallel, the State Forests are implementing the project "Predatory borderland - cross-border cooperation for integrated protection of large predators in Poland and Slovakia". Its budget is almost EUR 1.4 million, of which over EUR 1.11 million comes from the European Regional Development Fund under the Interreg Poland-Slovakia 2021-2027 program.

The work started on September 1, 2024 and will end on March 31, 2027. The Institute of Mammal Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Białowieża is responsible for laboratory analyzes in this project.

The research covers the Tatra, Babiogórski, Gorczański, Magura and Pieniny National Parks in Poland and the Slovak parks - Tatra and Pieniny (TANAP and PIENAP) and nine forest districts in southern Poland. However, the project does not include the Bieszczady National Park, considered one of the most important brown bear sanctuaries in Poland.

In addition, the General Directorate of the State Forests is planning to commission a research project on selected parameters of the brown bear population in the area where this species currently occurs. The project will be financed from the Forest Fund.

Who will conduct the research?

As indicated by the spokesman of the Ministry of Climate and Environment, in August, requests for proposals were sent to four scientific units that are to carry out this research: the Department of Genetics of the University of Life Sciences in Wrocław, the Institute of Nature Conservation of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Krakow, the Forest Research Institute and the Warsaw University of Life Sciences. The deadline for submitting offers is September 25, 2026, and the work is scheduled to be completed by the end of the third quarter of 2028.

Marek Pogorzelski emphasized that the obtained genetic data will not change the legal procedures regarding issuing permits for the elimination or relocation of animals, but they will help in making precise decisions.