Navigating Urban Bear Management: An Overview of Recent Trends, Challenges, and Solutions in Hokkaido Brown Bear Management

The human–brown bear Ursus arctos conflicts (HBCs) have increased in Hokkaido in recent years. The recent increase in HBCs can be attributed to changes in both bear populations and human society. Brown bears in Hokkaido were added to the list of “Designated Wildlife Species for Control,” and the Hokkaido Brown Bear Management Plan (2nd period) was reviewed in 2024. The plan includes active adaptive management, zoning management, and population control, in addition to the conventional nuisance bear management and damage prevention, when the total population exceeds the region's acceptable level. HBC management should be considered as a risk management strategy for natural disasters, consisting of a combination of hazard, exposure, and vulnerability. In an adaptive management scheme, the management policy is determined every few years by each phase, based on the annual conflict and population levels for each management unit. Zoning management aims to ensure the coexistence of humans and bears through spatial segregation. When implementing management measures, land is divided into two categories: bear habitat, with deep mountain forested areas as the core habitat zone and forests around human settlements as a buffer zone; and human settlements, with rural and urban areas serving as elimination and exclusion zones, respectively. To promote brown bear management in the future, necessary measures, monitoring, and implementation systems are discussed here based on the concepts of risk management and zoning management.