Background The Brown bear (Ursus arctos) is listed in Annex II of the EU Habitats Directive. There are estimated to be at least 500 brown bears in Greece, of which around a quarter are found in the project area, the municipality of Amyntaio in the Western Macedonia region of north-west Greece. This bear population is affected by bottleneck phenomena related to habitat disruption, – in particular, the recently constructed section of the Egnatia highway connecting the town of Florina to the border with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The construction of small-scale irrigation dams has further fragmented the forest and mountainous habitat of the target species. One in every three brown bear deaths in the project area between 1996 and 2015 – or 20 bear deaths in total - has been attributed to human causes. Mortality rates of 7.8% in the project area are above the sustainable threshold of 4-6%. Bear-human conflicts relate to the damage caused by bears to agricultural production; bears becoming used to the presence of people and therefore losing their natural shyness; interference caused by legal or illegal hunting activities; and traffic fatalities due to the fragmentation of core bear habitat areas or population connectivity corridors. The gender ratio of bears is also imbalanced due to the increased vulnerability of certain age classes, females with yearling cubs, dispersing young adults and vagrant adults. These factors may cause the collapse of the population’s demographic structure, low reproductive success, negative population trends and compromised population viability in the long term. Furthermore, the brown bear is also threatened by the degradation and loss of its habitat through inappropriate forestry practices and transportation infrastructure. The presence of a flagship species for sustainable economic development is often overlooked and there is little local awareness of its conservation requirements. Objectives The overall objective of the LIFE AMYBEAR project is to improve the conservation status of the brown bear by achieving sustainable human-bear coexistence through the minimisation of negative impacts. Specific objectives are to: Maintain bear mortality at a sustainable level not exceeding 6% of the minimum estimated population in the project area; Maintain the number of yearly reproductive females at a level of no less than 10-12% of the minimum estimated bear population in the project area; Improve the tolerance to the presence of bears of specific target groups (i.e. cattle, sheep and crop farmers, hunters and beekeepers); Improve awareness of the added value of the target species in relation to the attractiveness of the project area; Improve the know-how of the competent local authorities on specifc and concrete management techniques; and Continue self-sustaining mechanisms supporting certain types of preventive measures on a long-term basis. Expected results: The project expects to achieve the following results: Human-caused bear mortality maintained at less than 6% of the estimated minimum bear population of the project area; The number of yearly reproductive females not less than 10-12% of the minimum estimated bear population in the targeted area; At least 10 human-bear interference cases handled successfully and managed on an annual basis; Elimination of bear traffic fatalities, specifically related to the national road network fragmenting the project area; Increased tolerance of bears by local communities and target interest groups; Improved awareness of bear coexistence options among cattle, sheep and crop farmers, hunters and beekeepers in the project area; Improved capacity of of competent local authorities to manage bear-human conflicts; and Installation and use of specific preventive measures (electric fences and livestock guarding dogs) on a long-term basis.