A larger project for three years about the importance and role of the protected areas in times of climate change started in January 2010 and continues in 2011. The projects is being lead in three different approaches, regarding the issue:

1. Integration of measures for the climate protection in the work programmes of the protected areas: mobility, ecological construction, tourism;
2. Protection of biodiversity at the time of climate changes: the example of large carnivores;
3. Public relations and awareness raising of the managers, visitors and local people of the protected areas about the global climate changes: activities in the visitors' centres.

According to the discussions we have had with specialists, we understood that the main priorities of the Carpathian protected areas are focused on different issues then climate change impacts. Therefore, they are aware about the necessity of adaptation to these changes. The proposed activities should be linked with their main pre-occupations and should answer to the climate change adaptation strategies.

The activities during the first year of the project were focused towards the elaboration of preliminary documents and state of art studies. The development of “List of measures for the protected areas for the climate protection ” and the “Concept of communication strategy for the protected areas of the CNPA ” are the most valuable results of the first year of project.

According to different researches, even after reduction of emissions of greenhouse gases, the warming of the Earth's surface will continue. This warming will modify the composition of mountain ecosystems and habitats, which will cause a migration movements of the species. To facilitate these migrations, the efforts on ecological connectivity have to be done.

According to the results of the 1st year of the project, it seems that the main threat for the large carnivores populations is not the climate change, but the human activities – especially the destruction of suitable habitats for the large carnivores. Therefore, the question is still important, as we do not know how the climate change will influence the interactions bears x humans (they will be disturbed during their hibernation, because of higher temperatures). Nevertheless, the large carnivores are one of the umbrella species (together with their most important preys – ungulates) for the ecological networks methodology based on the “species approach”.

The level of acceptance of the ecological networks by the local stakeholders, populations and large public is varying from a region to another. The communication activities would help to rise the public awareness and inform the stakeholders about the importance of ecological networks. Therefore, specific communication tools are required for such activities.