Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

Bulgaria has over 1,000 legally designated protected areas [ ] 69 Achieving harmonious coexistence between people and nature Bulgarian NGOs have implemented a large number of projects and infor- mation campaigns to promote the values of biodiversity and approaches to its conservation. These include: Life for Burgas Lakes; Conservation of Imperial Eagle and Saker Falcon in key areas of the Natura 2000 network in Bulgaria; White Stork Festival; Conservation of the wintering population of the globally threat- ened red-breasted goose; Bulgarian Youth Water Parliament, and many others. Moreover a large number of campaigns to promote the conser- vation of agrobiodiversity have been launched, such as the “BioMania 2011” campaign funded by the Rural Development Programme (RDP), with eight festivals devoted to agro- biodiversity and traditional knowl- edge; the festival of agro-ecological farmers, funded by RDP 2007–2013; regular festivals of organic farming; the National Exhibition of Livestock in Sliven; and the National Festival for Protection of Local Bulgarian Breeds in Kalofer. One of the most significant acts of cooperation is that for the conserva- tion of biodiversity and sustainable local development in the Strandja mountains. After 15 years of active work in Strandja nature park, the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation worked to implement a project to conserve biodiversity and sustaina- ble local development. Funds were provided by the Financial Mecha- nism of the European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) amounting to almost US$ 600,000. The project aimed to achieve a har- monious coexistence between people and nature in Strandja by demon- strating the benefits for the local people from protected areas and their active involvement in biodiversity conservation. The most important results were related to the develop- ment of environmentally sustainable businesses as well as implementation of direct conservation measures. The project sought development of a proposal for the designation of the first post-Sevlille biosphere reserve in Bulgaria. Significant work has been done to develop joint management of the territory corresponding to the requirements of the Seville Strategy. The project was implemented by the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation in partnership with the Directorate of Strandja Nature park, the Bulgarian National Committee for UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere programme, and the Department of Nature Man- agement at the Norwegian Ministry of Environment. Now, the Ministry of Environment and Water will proceed with its efforts to declare the first biosphere reserve in Bulgaria. Zasele, Bulgaria Bulgaria B ulgaria is one the richest biodiversity countries in Europe. It encompasses parts of the Alpine, Black Sea and Continental biogeographic regions. The number of Balkan and Bulgarian endemics is relatively high. Animals in Bulgaria amount to over 30,000 species from 28 types and 75 classes. Best studied are the vertebrates. The ulgarian herpetofauna ranks third in Europe in species richness after Spain and Greece. Approximately 1,200 animal species are endemic (790 Bulgarian and 410 Balkan endemics). More than 780 cave species occur in Bulgaria of which 110 are typical troglobionts. Alexander Videnov on Unsplash