From June 4th to 6th, 2024, the 12th CMDR COE Annual Conference on Crisis Management and Disaster Response and  3rd International Conference on Environmental Protection and Disaster Risks (EnviroRisk2024) took place at Hotel Shipka, Sofia, Bulgaria. In the session titled “High-Performance Computing, Modeling and Simulations, GIS for Environmental Monitoring, and Artificial Intelligence”, Prof. Todor Gurov (IICT-BAS) presented a report titled “HPDA service for estimating the brown bear (Ursus arctos L.) population in Bulgaria.” He emphasized that the brown bear population is protected under theBulgarian Biodiversity Act. In his presentation, he introduced the functionalities of the High-Performance Data Analysis (HPDA) service for automatic estimation of the brown bear population in Bulgaria. The software of the program is written in C++ and includes statistical algorithms based on the maximum likelihood method. Input data includes observations of bears in their habitats, collected using the transect method, with bear characteristics mainly involving footprints, excrements, and tree marks. Data is collected annually as part of National Field Monitoring, organized by the Executive Environmental Agency in late October or early November. Approaches to studying the bear population by sex and age are also included in the service. Results from the HPDA service include: (i) estimates of brown bear population and density in various habitats – alpine, continental regions, and different mountains; (ii) assessments of age structures and how threats impact the population.

Following the presentations, a brief discussion on the topic was held. The full programme you can find HERE.

You can find recordings of the presentations from each day on the conference’s page.