Within its active work on protecting and popularizing the European Green Belt - the shared natural heritage along the line of the former Iron Curtain, the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation launches a new project. “BALKANIA ROUTE: Two Steps towards Others” aims to connect the existing green infrastructure along the Balkan part of the European Green Belt by creating a concept for hiking tourism on long distances, the environmental organization said on its website.
The new tourist route will cover 3,500 km and span nine Balkan countries: Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, and Turkiye. The aim is to popularize - and thus make people protect - the wild territories and valuable plant and animal species along the Balkan Green Belt.
As part of the project, the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation plans to work with partners from Albania, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Turkiye. The transboundary project has won EUR 59,982.06 in funding under the 2nd BESTbelt Call for project proposals. The project will be on until the end of 2024.
In an interview for bTV, Petar Vanev of the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation explained that the NGO will prepare GPS maps and information about water sources, accommodation establishments, and border crossings along the route. In Bulgaria, the route will include the Western Balkan Range, Belasitsa, Slavyanka, Rhodope, Sakar, and Strandzha mountains.
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