On March 28th and 29th, we organized lectures – workshops on coexistence with beavers in Ljubljana and Maribor. Stakeholders were invited – experts from the fields of water, forest and nature management, as well as agricultural consultants. At the workshops, we introduced the LIFE Beaver project and the biology and ecology of the beaver. Representatives of the Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Nature Conservation presented the history of the beaver in Dolenjska and Štajerska regions. Guests from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Spatial planning presented the beaver in Slovenian legislation and regulations, including the damage compensation system. Prof. dr. Marijan Grubešić from the Zagreb Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology presented reintroduction of the beaver to Croatia (from where it spread to Slovenia) and the condition of the beaver population in that country, while Gerhard Schwab, beaver expert from Germany, presented beaver management in Bavaria. Namely, beavers in Bavaria were never extinct and therefore have a long-standing and proven management practice. Atthe end, we invited guests to fill out a short questionnaire on coexistance with beavers.
