Bats haven't been much of a priority in Romania, so a small but dedicated group of bat conservationists must begin its efforts by laying a solid foundation of research and tightly targeted education. Bat Conservation International is helping.
BCI's Global Grassroots Conservation Fund provided a $1,500 grant to help the young Romanian Bat Protection Association get its ambitious programs under way.
The group recently launched a National Bat Monitoring System to identify Romanian bat species and their status. That continuing program has identified 22 species, at least five of them listed internationally as vulnerable.
Next, the association enlisted the active support of the Romanian National Parks, which play a vital role in preserving natural lands in the country. The National Parks system is including a special focus on bats in a new monitoring program of the parks' flora and fauna, but many of the rangers and volunteers had little knowledge of bats.
BCI, a veteran leader of effective field workshops for bat education, lent its support for a series of Romanian workshops that brought together the Romanian Bat Protection Association and biologists and rangers from the National Parks.
The workshops provided hands-on experience in bat-species identification, monitoring bats with bat detectors and identifying bats through their echolocation calls. The three workshops, each three days long, provided lots of experience with bat detectors and mist nets, in addition to instruction in the importance of bats and their biology and ecology and methods of monitoring bat populations.
The results of this initial work were presented at international symposia in Romania and the United Kingdom. An educational CD was prepared and is being distributed that describes the general biology of bats, descriptions of echolocation and a key to species identification.
Key people in Romania's national parks are now aware of the importance of their bat colonies and how best to monitor and protect them. These people are poised to spread that knowledge to others.
The biggest threat to bats in Romania, as elsewhere, is that they are often forced to seek shelter in areas that are at high risk of human disturbance. At least in the national parks, the presence of knowledgeable rangers can reduce this risk.
For the long term, the Romanian Bat Protection Association now has a growing database of the nation's bats, which is being shared with the National Parks and the government as part of a new program of bat conservation in Romania.
You can help support bat conservation around the world by contributing to Bat Conservation International's Global Grassroots Conservation Fund. Write Nicole Daspit or call (512) 327-9721.
