Erasmus+ blended intensive programme “Wildlife Management and Conservation in Human Altered Ecosystems” implemented at the Faculty of Forestry and Ecology
In November of 2024 Erasmus BIP “Wildlife Management and Conservation in Human Altered Ecosystems” has been implemented at the Faculty of Forestry and Ecology of Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy (VMU AA). This programme introduced participating students to currently relevant topics of wildlife management and conservation in forest and agricultural ecosystems.
There were 31 students from 9 universities participating in the program: students from Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technology, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Karelia University of Applied Sciences (Finland), University of Agriculture in Krakow (Poland), Brasov University of Transylvania (Romania), Shota Rustaveli State University of Batumi (Sakhartvelli), L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University (Kazakhstan), University of Lodz (Poland) and Polytechnic Institute Unilasalle (France).
The programme consisted of theoretical and practical training, including online lectures and a week of face-to-face training at the Faculty of Forestry and Ecology. The intensive programme included discussions moderated by the lecturers, independent learning and presentations by the students, as well as study tours to the European Bison Reservation in Dzūkija National Park and an educartional hunt at the VMU AA educational hunting site.
The programme provided students with a deeper understanding of wildlife management in different socio-economic contexts in a wide range of northern and southern European countries: the management of large predator populations (brown bears, wolves) and conflicts with society, the role of wildlife populations in forest ecosystems and agriculture. It also touched upon the very important aspects of wildlife population management in the context of climate change in fire-affected ecosystems.
The content of the programme and the expertise of the lecturers allowed students to gain knowledge and practical experience of contemporary wildlife population management in different regions of Europe, including EU protected species (e.g. the impact of human disturbance on alpine populations in regions of high tourism intensity and the management of non-significantly abundant indigenous game, as well as the management of invasive animal species).
The course included an educational excursion to the Čepkeliai State Reserve and a cultural programme at the Dzūkija National Park Visitor Centre. The cultural programme ended with a tasting of Dzūkija national dishes.
The practical experience of educational hunting was an exceptional part of the course programme. According to the students’ feedback in the questionnaire, this was the most significant event of the programme, an exceptional opportunity to see hunting areas in Lithuania and to get acquainted with the traditions of Lithuanian hunters. According to the students’ expressions of gratitude, it was an experience they will remember for a long time and impressions they will share when they return to their universities.
The programme was taught by 5 lecturers from the VMU Academy of Agriculture (Prof. Dr. Gediminas Brazaitis, Dr. Michael Manton, Dr. Artūras Kibiša, Dr. Renata Špinkytė-Bačkaitienė and Doc. Mindaugas Bakševičius) and 6 professors from partner universities – Dr. Edgars Dubrovskis (Latvia), Dr. Mari Hautala (Finland), Prof. dr. hab. inż. Michał Ciach (Poland), Prof. Dr. Ovidiu Ionescu and Darius Hardalau (Romania), and Prof. Dr. Charles Ruffner (USA).
The main outputs of the programme were student presentations on the wildlife population management system in their country and presentations on topics prepared by the lecturers in advance, in groups of 4-5 students.
The Erasmus BIP programme was organized and coordinated by dr. Jolanta Stankevičiūtė, assistant professor of the Department of Forest Sciences and dr. Monika Medikienė, International coordinator of VMU AA.
Co-Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
