Summary
The project started in 2015 and is still ongoing. The main goal was to restore former high value pastures that have been turned into farmland and in this way to restore the natural habitats of important species – the European Souslik as a main food source for Imperial Eagle, Booted Eagle, Lesser spotted eagle, Long-legged buzzard. The contract is land-based and it includes around 20 farmers in the Strandzha Mountain. The leading organization is the Bulgarian Society for Protection of Birds, which is an NGO. Under a project financed partially by the LIFE + program the association purchased and leased out over 600 ha land to farmers with requirements to restore and maintain the pastures in the environmental way.
Objectives
- Protect the local biodiversity in the area;
- Restoration of the natural mosaic nature of the habitats in the region;
- To encourage the involvement of farmers into contracts for biodiversity conservation.
Public Goods
Problem description
There is a tendency to plough and convert some of the most important grasslands for endangered bird species into arable land, vineyards and orchards. The main driving force for this contract was the high percentage of tilled pastures, which were turned into arable land in the Strandhza and Sakar mountains. The restoration of former high-value pastures will contribute to the conservation of endangered vulture birds and will also allow the restoration of the mosaic nature of the habitats – an important biodiversity feature.
