IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Vogel, B.; M”lich, T. | |
| Best practices for implementing biotope networks in highly fragmented landscapes: the safety net for the European wildcat | |
| 2013 Conference Proceeding | |
The fragmentation of landscapes belongs to the major causes for the ongoing loss of biodiversity worldwide. Remaining habitats have become isolated patches within intensively used cultural landscapes for many species. One of those species is the European wildcat _Felis silvestris silvestris SCHR. _The original range of the European wildcat once covered forests allover central and southern Europe. Today, wildcat distribution is heavily scattered due to former human persecution and habitat fragmentation in Europe and especially in Germany. To counteract this process, the environmental NGO BUND (Friends of the Earth Germany) initiated a comprehensive project on biotope networking called "The Safety Net for the European Wildcat" in 2004. The ambitious aim of the project is to establish a continuous forest network of 20,000 kilometers length. Scientific basis of the project is the wildcat routing map. It was calculated by combining the outcomes of a comprehensive habitat model with a cost-distance-analysis in order to identify optimal connection routes between forests occupied by wildcats and suitable wildcat habitats. Result of this procedure is a map which shows potential migration corridors between all relevant forests throughout Germany. Although the wildcat is the target species of the initiative, many other species benefit, thereby improving the health of entire forest ecosystems. The implementation of this corridor implicates a high potential for conflicts with land-use owners due to the high competition for land by further infrastructural development, agriculture and nature conservation. In order to raise public awareness and gain support for biotope networking the BUND ran an accompanying publicity campaign from 2010 to 2012. Stakeholder dialogues and public relations were major parts of the campaign, which was funded by the EU (LIFE+). The case example of the first corridor implemented in the framework of the wildcat project shows how potential conflicts can be dissolved: This corridor was planted in 2007 in order to reconnect the Hainich National Park, which is inhabited by a stable wildcat population, with the Thuringian Forest, where wildcats are still rare. Intensively used agricultural land and a highway are major barriers for wildlife migration between the two forests. When this highway was relocated the chance arose to implement a wildcat corridor in the area. As a result of a long-lasting, but successful process of dialogue between authorities, local farmers and the BUND compensational measures were bundled within an area suitable for a wildcat corridor. Already in 2012 the first wildcats were proven to use the corridor. Two other corridors in Rhineland-Palatinate and Lower Saxony followed. With funding from the German federal administration BUND will implement six new wildcat corridors within the next two years in order to push forward the establishment of a functional network of forests. Furthermore, an open database with wildcat DNA samples from ten monitoring regions throughout Germany will be established. Since the reconnection of European forests is a truly international task, BUND has a strong interest in initiating international collaborations for biotope networking for the long term. |
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