SmartBirds
Picture: Veronika Helmberger
BSPB’s project “From River to Ridge”, which will support the planning of nature restoration in the Strumeshnitsa River catchment, has received support from the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme (ELSP). The initiative is one of 15 projects selected for funding following a competitive call that attracted more than 280 applications. The catchment spans territory in Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Greece, and the project will be implemented in partnership with the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation.
From the Belasitsa and Ograzhden mountains to the lowlands below, the Strumeshnitsa River catchment covers 43,644 hectares and connects a variety of natural habitats across three countries. The river and its tributaries form an ecological network that brings together freshwater habitats, riparian forests and grassland communities. However, habitat degradation and changes to the water regime are weakening the connections between them. To address these challenges, the project will work with local communities, landowners and public institutions to develop a shared framework for nature restoration. The aim is to identify opportunities to improve ecological connectivity and to achieve long-term benefits for both nature and people.
The Strumeshnitsa catchment project is part of a new package of 15 grants for large-scale landscape and seascape restoration initiatives in Europe and the Mediterranean region. The supported projects cover territories in 18 countries, from the Atlantic coast of Ireland and France, through the Carpathians and the Balkans, to the lagoons of Tunisia and Libya and Saros Bay in Türkiye. Some of them extend across more than one country, while others follow entire natural systems, from ridge to river or from source to sea. The common approach is to seek solutions that restore natural processes at the scale needed for their long-term functioning.
The Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme (ELSP) is managed by the Cambridge Conservation Initiative, a collaboration between the University of Cambridge and leading international organisations focused on biodiversity conservation, in partnership with Arcadia, a charitable fund of Peter Baldwin and Lisbet Rausing.
