SmartBirds
Pictures – Dimitar Gradinarov – BSPB
A conference organized by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) and WWF Bulgaria brought together representatives of institutions, academia, and civil society organizations in Sofia for the first expert dialogue on measures and priority areas to be included in Bulgaria’s National Nature Restoration Plan.
The event was opened by Minister of Environment and Water Rositsa Karamfilova-Blagova, who emphasized that the most important task is to restore dialogue among farmers, industry representatives, landowners, conservation organizations, and the scientific community. She stressed that compromises with nature are unacceptable and that scientific evidence must remain the foundation of all decisions.
The preparation of national restoration plans is a requirement for all EU Member States under the Nature Restoration Regulation adopted in 2024. The first draft plans must be completed by 1 September 2026.
Experts from the Ministry of Environment and Water, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Executive Forest Agency, the University of Forestry, the National Museum of Natural History at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation, Balkani Wildlife Society, and other organizations took part in the event, titled “Nature Restoration – Responsibilities and Opportunities through a Common National Plan.”
Participants agreed that preparing the plan on time, even if it is not fully comprehensive at first, is essential to ensure that funding for the proposed measures can be included in the planning of the European Union’s Multiannual Financial Framework for 2028–2034.
Among the measures proposed by experts for restoring Bulgaria’s forests, agricultural lands, urban ecosystems, and wetlands were the establishment of firebreak strips in forests bordering agricultural land; planting native trees and shrubs along agricultural field boundaries to protect bird populations; mapping and restoring peatlands; maintaining green roofs and gardens around residential buildings as natural water retention measures; and rewetting drained wetlands.
Institutions and organizations will now submit proposals to the Ministry of Environment and Water, which coordinates the preparation of the plan. These proposals will include specific restoration measures targeting habitats and species, as well as priority areas for restoration both within the Natura 2000 network and outside protected areas.
Before the final version of the National Nature Restoration Plan is submitted by 1 September 2027, further consultations with stakeholders and the public will take place, alongside the preparation of a Strategic Environmental Assessment and consultations with the European Commission.
The conference “Nature Restoration – Responsibilities and Opportunities through a Common National Plan” was organized with the support of the Coalition “For Nature to Remain in Bulgaria”, the Ministry of Environment and Water, and the National Ethnographic Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
