site.btaBulgaria's Rhodope Mountains Become Part of Rewilding Europe Initiative
NW 13:39:32 13-11-2014
SN1339NW.113
113 ENVIRONMENT-RHODOPE MOUNTAINS-REWILDING EUROPE INITIATIVE
Bulgaria's Rhodope Mountains
Become Part of Rewilding
Europe Initiative
Nijmegen/Sofia, November 13 (BTA) - Bulgaria's Rhodope Mountains
Thursday officially became a part of the Rewilding Europe
initiative, after a period of intensive
preparations for it within the region, the Rewilding Europe
initiative said on their website.
"The Rhodope Mountains are located southeast of Bulgaria's
capital Sofia. It is a very beautiful area and it is one of
Europe's real biodiversity hotspots, with huge rewilding
potential," explained Stoycho Stoychev, Conservation Director of
the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds and a member
of the Rewilding Rhodopes team. The area is also connected
ecologically to the extensive wild lands south of the border, in
Greece: the slopes of the Rodopi and Orvilos Mountains. Towards
the west, the Rhodopes reach to the wild Northern Pirin and
Rila Mountains, with their famous Pirin and Rila National Parks,
the press release reads.
"This entire region forms the core of the Rila-Rhodopean
Mountain Massif - the largest, compact mountain formation in the
Balkans, extending over more than 40,000 km2 (4 million
hectares). However, during the first years of working in this
area, our activities will mainly be focused on the eastern part
of this mountain range (the Eastern Rhodopes), which is about
1.4 million hectares in size," Stoychev said.
The Rhodopes Rewilding Focus
"Based on a ten-year vision, the rewilding work will focus on
letting nature in the Rhodopes again more be shaped by nature's
own ways, the natural processes, and particularly so by allowing
for natural grazing, carnivory and scavenging to be back and
drive the system," said Frans Schepers, Managing Director of
Rewilding Europe. "This will be delivered through the local
native key wildlife species - fallow deer, red deer, wild living
horses, wolves, brown bears, several vulture species (black
vulture,
Egyptian vulture and griffon vulture), a high number of raptor
species and the small-sized but extremely important Souslik or
European ground squirrel," he added.
In addition to supporting this wildlife comeback, there will be
work done to protect the remaining old-growth forests and to
promote much more natural management regimes in the protected
areas and hunting concessions. There will also be a lot of work
done to support the local entrepreneurs in their efforts to
connect their businesses with wildlife, wild nature and
wilderness. Within the area, four priority areas have been
selected where the rewilding work will start off: Chernoochene,
Madzharovo, Studen Kladenets and Byala Reka, the press release
reads.
"We hope these priority areas, in total some 100,000 hectares,
can then serve as practical and inspirational examples for the
wider rewilding landscape in the region," said Stefan Avramov,
Rewilding Officer at Rewilding Rhodopes.
Rewilding History Here
The concept of rewilding is already quite well known in this
area. The efforts here will build on the experiences from and
achievements by the New Thracian Gold (NTG) project, which was
active in the Eastern Rhodopes between 2009 and 2014, where ARK
Nature and the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds
(BSPB), were the key partners.
Among its main achievements to date can be mentioned the
successful reintroductions and restocking of large grazing
mammals like red deer, Tarpan horses, Karakachan horses and
fallow deer as well as a grazing experiment with European bison.
This has led to around 55 Tarpans now roaming freely in two
sites, and more than 50 fallow deer and 20 red deer roaming
three sites here. The NTG project also produced an Eastern
Rhodopes nature travel map, a Nature Travel Guidebook for
wildlife lovers (Crossbill Guide that covers both the Bulgarian
and Greek parts of the Eastern Rhodopes) and a Trans-Rhodope
biking and hiking tourist map, all in order to promote the area
as a quality nature tourism destination.
Rewilding Rhodopes Foundation
A foundation called "Rewilding Rhodopes" will be the local legal
entity responsible for the rewilding work in the Rhodope
Mountains. It will be a transformation of the New Thracian Gold
- Bulgaria Foundation, with a new local board but largely the
same core team of experts involved.
With Rhodope Mountains as its seventh area, Rewilding Europe
moves another step forward towards its target of establishing
ten magnificent rewilding areas across Europe by 2022, the press
release reads.
Rewilding Europe is a foundation under Dutch law, established in
2011.
PK/DS
/СН/
SN1339NW.113
113 ENVIRONMENT-RHODOPE MOUNTAINS-REWILDING EUROPE INITIATIVE
Bulgaria's Rhodope Mountains
Become Part of Rewilding
Europe Initiative
Nijmegen/Sofia, November 13 (BTA) - Bulgaria's Rhodope Mountains
Thursday officially became a part of the Rewilding Europe
initiative, after a period of intensive
preparations for it within the region, the Rewilding Europe
initiative said on their website.
"The Rhodope Mountains are located southeast of Bulgaria's
capital Sofia. It is a very beautiful area and it is one of
Europe's real biodiversity hotspots, with huge rewilding
potential," explained Stoycho Stoychev, Conservation Director of
the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds and a member
of the Rewilding Rhodopes team. The area is also connected
ecologically to the extensive wild lands south of the border, in
Greece: the slopes of the Rodopi and Orvilos Mountains. Towards
the west, the Rhodopes reach to the wild Northern Pirin and
Rila Mountains, with their famous Pirin and Rila National Parks,
the press release reads.
"This entire region forms the core of the Rila-Rhodopean
Mountain Massif - the largest, compact mountain formation in the
Balkans, extending over more than 40,000 km2 (4 million
hectares). However, during the first years of working in this
area, our activities will mainly be focused on the eastern part
of this mountain range (the Eastern Rhodopes), which is about
1.4 million hectares in size," Stoychev said.
The Rhodopes Rewilding Focus
"Based on a ten-year vision, the rewilding work will focus on
letting nature in the Rhodopes again more be shaped by nature's
own ways, the natural processes, and particularly so by allowing
for natural grazing, carnivory and scavenging to be back and
drive the system," said Frans Schepers, Managing Director of
Rewilding Europe. "This will be delivered through the local
native key wildlife species - fallow deer, red deer, wild living
horses, wolves, brown bears, several vulture species (black
vulture,
Egyptian vulture and griffon vulture), a high number of raptor
species and the small-sized but extremely important Souslik or
European ground squirrel," he added.
In addition to supporting this wildlife comeback, there will be
work done to protect the remaining old-growth forests and to
promote much more natural management regimes in the protected
areas and hunting concessions. There will also be a lot of work
done to support the local entrepreneurs in their efforts to
connect their businesses with wildlife, wild nature and
wilderness. Within the area, four priority areas have been
selected where the rewilding work will start off: Chernoochene,
Madzharovo, Studen Kladenets and Byala Reka, the press release
reads.
"We hope these priority areas, in total some 100,000 hectares,
can then serve as practical and inspirational examples for the
wider rewilding landscape in the region," said Stefan Avramov,
Rewilding Officer at Rewilding Rhodopes.
Rewilding History Here
The concept of rewilding is already quite well known in this
area. The efforts here will build on the experiences from and
achievements by the New Thracian Gold (NTG) project, which was
active in the Eastern Rhodopes between 2009 and 2014, where ARK
Nature and the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds
(BSPB), were the key partners.
Among its main achievements to date can be mentioned the
successful reintroductions and restocking of large grazing
mammals like red deer, Tarpan horses, Karakachan horses and
fallow deer as well as a grazing experiment with European bison.
This has led to around 55 Tarpans now roaming freely in two
sites, and more than 50 fallow deer and 20 red deer roaming
three sites here. The NTG project also produced an Eastern
Rhodopes nature travel map, a Nature Travel Guidebook for
wildlife lovers (Crossbill Guide that covers both the Bulgarian
and Greek parts of the Eastern Rhodopes) and a Trans-Rhodope
biking and hiking tourist map, all in order to promote the area
as a quality nature tourism destination.
Rewilding Rhodopes Foundation
A foundation called "Rewilding Rhodopes" will be the local legal
entity responsible for the rewilding work in the Rhodope
Mountains. It will be a transformation of the New Thracian Gold
- Bulgaria Foundation, with a new local board but largely the
same core team of experts involved.
With Rhodope Mountains as its seventh area, Rewilding Europe
moves another step forward towards its target of establishing
ten magnificent rewilding areas across Europe by 2022, the press
release reads.
Rewilding Europe is a foundation under Dutch law, established in
2011.
PK/DS
/СН/
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