As part of the Carnivora Dinarica project, we are exploring the importance of large carnivores for local communities, using the concept of cultural ecosystem services evaluation.
The diversity of interests associated with large carnivores between different groups of people significantly influences the (un)acceptance of management measures.
We carry out semi-structured interviews with different focus groups (farmers, hunters, teachers, tourism workers, artists) to better understand current social value systems and the potentials associated with large carnivores. A better understanding of different interests and values will make it easier to accept compromises and to plan management goals that will not lead to divergences with the expectations of local communities in the future. We conducted an interview with a focus group of farmers in Pivka, focus group of hunters in Loški Potok, focus group of artists in Radovljica, focus group of tourist workers in Stari trg near Lož, and a test focus group in Ljubljana.
