One of Europe's rarest species survives in the central Apennines: the Marsican brown bear. A tiny population – between fifty and sixty individuals – that represents both a symbol and a fragility of our natural heritage. The association Salviamo l'Orso has been looking after it for years, combining scientific research, volunteering and community awareness.

Today its work receives an important accolade: the Italian prize at the Defender Awards 2025 in the Defenders of the Wild category, dedicated to the protection of the most vulnerable species. The winner is in particular the Bear Smart Landscape project: a model for preventing conflict between humans and bears, based on practical interventions – electric fences, bear-proof bins, secured orchards – and on ongoing work with local communities.

The recognition comes at a complex moment for conservation in Italy, amid habitat loss and new coexistence challenges. And it is precisely here that Salviamo l'Orso works every day, at the heart of one of the peninsula's most delicate ecosystems.

The work of Salviamo l'Orso in the central Apennines

The association's work crosses the ridges of the central Apennines, where villages, woodlands and wildlife share spaces and vulnerabilities. Here the bear is also an identity marker that speaks to the relationship between human communities and their territories.

Photographer and Italian jury panelist Luca Locatelli, who documented the work of the finalist organisation, describes what he observed: "What struck me most was seeing how a landscape so wild and yet so harmonious had learned to share its space with its own wildlife. […] I tried to convey not only the beauty of the Apennines, but the delicate balance built on care, respect and shared responsibility."

His images show what is often invisible: the patience of volunteers checking camera traps, the care taken in installing electric fences to prevent damage to orchards, the search for concrete solutions to reduce conflict.

What changes with the Defender Awards 2025 win

The Marsican brown bear is not just an iconic animal: it is a subspecies that exists only in Italy. Biologist Emanuela Evangelista, a member of the Defender Awards 2025 jury, stresses that the association's work goes beyond the protection of individual animals: "Salviamo l'Orso works to protect a subspecies at extremely high risk of extinction. […] The organisation operates in one of the most difficult, urgent and necessary fields: ecological restoration." Rewilding means precisely this: rebuilding balances disrupted by humans, restoring ecological continuity to territories. Here the Bear Smart Landscape project plays a central role: it does not simply "save the bear", but creates the conditions for bears to go on living in these territories without conflict.

Thanks to the recognition, Salviamo l'Orso will be able to open a new base in an area that has until now been difficult to reach, extending its presence to mountain zones that require suitable vehicles and more complex logistics. The support provided by the Defender Awards – a Defender 4×4 for two years, a fund of 120,000 euros disbursable over two years and training support from expert professionals – will make it possible to strengthen field interventions and community awareness activities. One of the main objectives will indeed be to continue engaging with local communities, accompanying them on a journey of awareness and peaceful coexistence. The prize will also make it possible to strengthen territorial monitoring, enabling early identification of threats that could jeopardise the survival of the species.

The Defender Awards: giving visibility to those who work away from the spotlight

"I am proud and grateful to have been part of the jury," says actress and Unicef Goodwill Ambassador Alessandra Mastronardi. "Too often the work of small NGOs goes unnoticed, but it is through their daily commitment that genuine and lasting change can come about." A reflection that captures the spirit of the Defender Awards initiative which, in its first edition, attracted hundreds of entries from around the world. The final shortlist included fifty-six projects across six countries, divided into the Defenders of the Land, Wild, Sea and Humanity categories.

Italy brought eight initiatives to the final: from the wildlife rescue work of Atena odv in Romagna to Cestha's efforts to protect sea turtles and coastal habitats; from the rural regeneration promoted by Rocciaviva between Puglia and Basilicata to the new community woodlands created by Fondazione Sylva on abandoned or confiscated land, to name but a few. Different organisations, united by the same care for fragile territories. The award was created precisely to offer this type of organisation a platform for visibility and growth support, helping to consolidate projects that have a real and measurable impact on both nature and people.