10-13 November 2005, Castelo Branco, Portugal

The second Portuguese-Spanish Congress on the Iberian Wolf

The 2nd Portuguese-Spanish Congress on the Iberian Wolf was held in organization of Grupo Lobo, the School of Agrarian Sciences of the Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco and the Environmental Biology Centre in Castel Branco from 10-13 November 2005.

The congress was attended by numerous scientists and experts specialized in wolves. Presentations were divided into several thematic units - biology and ecology of wolves, man and the wolf, wolf conservation, wolf management and wolf population monitoring. The discussions mostly focused on wolf conservation approaches and the ways to handle conflicts between interest groups. The congress was also used to show several documentaries on the Iberian wolf.

In addition to domestic experts who presented an overview of the wolf population status on the Iberian peninsula, the Congress hosted a number of foreign experts too. A presentation was held about a successful reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone and a mysterious re-appearance of wolves in Sweden, including the presentation of two international projects - the LIFE COEX implemented in Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Croatia and the LIFE III project on "Conservation and Management of Wolves in Croatia".

The activities and achievements of the LIFE III project on "Conservation and Management of Wolves in Croatia" and the Wolf Management Plan for Croatia were presented by Ms. Sonja Desnica, the assistant head of the project. During the discussion that followed the attendants were chiefly interested in actions taken to reduce the damage caused to livestock and mitigate conflicts between various interest groups. The Wolf Management Plan for Croatia aroused a lot of interest too, because Spain and Portugal have yet to prepare such a plan, and so did other promotional material printed within the framework of the project.