SmartBirds
On 11 December, the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) organised a stakeholder meeting within the project “From Iron Curtain to Green Belt: Restoring Ecological Networks in Southeast Bulgaria.” The event brought together representatives of local businesses from Strandzha, Sakar and the Eastern Rhodopes, who exchanged experience, good practices and ideas for the development of sustainable tourism in the region.
Participants included representatives of the tourism sector, farmers, wineries, community cultural centres (chitalishta) and forestry enterprises. Each of them contributed with their expertise and proposals for future joint activities aimed at nature conservation and the sustainable use of local resources.
Photo: Svetoslav Spasov
A key focus of the programme was the launch of the development of a new web platform initiated by BSPB. The platform will bring together information on natural assets, cultural heritage, tourist routes and available services in the Sakar and Strandzha regions, to support the development of responsible and sustainable tourism.
The event was hosted by Zaara Estate – a member of Wines of Sakar and part of the partner network of local businesses supporting BSPB’s activities.
The project is funded by the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme (ELSP) that is managed by the Cambridge Conservation Initiative – a collaboration between the Chancellor Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge of The Old Schools, and leading internationally-focused biodiversity conservation organisations. The University and the ELSP are supported by Arcadia – a charitable fund of Peter Baldwin and Lisbet Rausing.
