The management of brown bears in Sweden, Norway and Finland

Abstract

There are about 2,700 bears in the central and northern parts of Sweden, about 150 bears in Norway (most of them along the Swedish, Finnish, and Russian borders), and about 2,400 in Finland, mostly in the eastern parts of the country. The conservation status of the brown bear is considered “Near Threatened” in Sweden and Finland and “Endangered” in Norway. All three countries have well-developed population monitoring programs, but the methods used differ widely. However, because these countries share the same population of bears, cross-border collaboration in research, management, and the sharing of information is well established. All three countries have damage compensation systems in place, however, the type of damages vary; in Sweden and Finland they are mainly due to depredation of semi-domestic reindeer in the northern parts of the countries, while damages in Norway are mainly related to the depredation of free-grazing sheep and they are concentrated in the eastern part of the country, along the border with Sweden. Bears in Sweden and Norway are managed at the regional level, while bears in Finland are managed on the national level. Hunting of bears is allowed in all three countries nowadays.