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Good practice Imported

LIFE DINALP BEAR's Sensor-Triggered Road Signs Cut Bear-Vehicle Collisions on the Ljubljana–Kočevje Road

Slovenia · Kočevje · See the Slovenia profile

Evidence: Quasi-experimental Top 76% 33/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

On two hotspots on the Ljubljana–Kočevje road, roadside sensors detect approaching bears and trigger dynamic 'animal on the road' warning signs; the EU LIFE+ DINALP BEAR project reports a 25% fall in bear traffic mortality across Slovenia and Croatia, 2014-2019.

25%
Fall in bear traffic mortality (Slovenia and Croatia) (2014-2019)
41%
Growth in Slovenia's bear population (2007-2015)

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Slovenia Forest Service; ERICo Velenje; LIFE DINALP BEAR project (EU LIFE+ programme)
Period
2014-2019
Keywords
road ecology, human-wildlife conflict, brown bear conservation, transport safety

Context

Slovenia's brown bear population grew ~41% between 2007-2015, concentrating roadkill risk on roads through the Dinaric forests, including the Ljubljana-Kocevje road.

Activities

Between 2014-2019 the EU LIFE+-funded LIFE DINALP BEAR project (Slovenia Forest Service, ERICo Velenje, MIEL Electronics, national infrastructure directorate) installed sensor-triggered dynamic warning signs at two collision hotspots (Zgornje Lozine-Dolenja vas, Ortnek-Zlebic).

Results

The consortium reports bear traffic mortality fell 25% across Slovenia and Croatia over the project period, even as the bear population continued growing and conflict/damage claims did not rise in step.

Conclusions

Interreg Europe has catalogued the scheme as a transferable EU good practice, and it has since informed bear-conflict work in Bulgaria.

Implementation
Indicative cost
High (€500k–€5M)
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years)
Staffing & skills
Slovenia Forest Service, ERICo Velenje technical partners, MIEL Electronics, national infrastructure directorate

Conditions for success

  • accurate identification of collision hotspots
  • combining warning signs with population monitoring, electric fencing and compensation schemes

Commonly funded by

LIFE Programme National / regional programmes

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

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