The FAIR data principles- Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability- are being increasingly applied to all scientific disciplines. These principles represent a commitment for data depositing and sharing of the scientific community, societies, institutions, repositories and publishers. However, the situation is far from ideal when it comes to data on damage caused by large carnivores compiled by local, national or European administrations or responsible institutions. Data on livestock predated by large carnivores and derived economic costs as well as the economic subsidies received by the livestock sector are dispersed, difficult to obtain, not standardized and not quality-controlled.
Policies to reduce human-large carnivore conflicts urgently need scientific assessments of the effectiveness of different mitigation measures which are compatible with conservation targets. Such reliable assessments can only be conducted by implementing a coordinated and standardized European database with quality-controlled FAIR livestock predation data. Political decisions must base on scientific evidence, not on emotions. We raised this crucial issue in our just published letter in Science.
Large carnivores play fundamental roles in ecosystems. Ecosystems inhabited by large carnivores function better and are more resilient. Increasing ecosystem resilience is a pillar of EU policy to mitigate and adapt to climate change, and preserving functional populations of large carnivores is a legal obligation for all EU countries.
by Nuria Selva