The owners and users of the meadows and pastures – farmers, municipalities, private companies and cooperatives are responsible for their conservation. In order to protect this habitat type from invasive alien plant species it is important that everyone who intentionally or unintentionally introduces such species, as well as the institutions, which can help to limit their distribution or remove them, participate in the project’s activities.

They are:

  • Farmers in Apriltsi, Etropole, Kazanlak, Karlovo, Pavel Banya, Sevlievo, Sopot, Teteven, Troyan, Ugarchin municipalities.
  • Municipal administrations and Municipal Agricultural Offices
  • Regional directorates “Agriculture”- Gabrovo, Lovech, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora
  • Regional Administrations – Gabrovo, Lovech, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora
  • Regional Inspectorates of Environment and Water (RIEW) – Veliko Tarnovo, Plovdiv, Sofia, Stara Zagora

Invasive alien species and the meadows and pastures are also within the interest of:

  • Regional Road Administrations – Gabrovo, Lovech, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora
  • Railway Divisions – Plovdiv, Sofia
  • Beekeepers in the area

The pilot territory chosen for field work by the project for habitats 6510 and 6210  is the area of Karlovo and Sopot municipalities in the “Central Balkan – buffer“ Natura 2000 site. Good practices for maintenance of the meadows and pastures and eradication of IA shrubs and trees species from them will be executed and demonstrated, together with their owners and users. Farmers from the other municipalities in the site are encouraged to participate in the entire process – from acquaintance with the project, through analysis and discussion of the problems, to decision making. They are able to observe how the in-situ measures are executed and what the results are, in order to apply the useful practices in their own meadows and pastures.

Project Actions

See presentation (in Bulgarian) about the activities in 2018 and 2019 for improvement of the status of habitats 6510 and 6210.

Leading the co-management is the Habitats Conservation Program for the 6510 Lowland Hay Meadows and 6210 Semi-natural Dry Grass and Shrub Communities on Limestone (2023-2028). It was developed with the participation of grassland habitats sustainable use experts from the Agricultural University in Plovdiv and non-governmental organizations. It complies with the legal norms for the protection of biological diversity and agricultural lands and with the National Standards for good agricultural and ecological condition of the land. The measures for the sustainable use of the grassland habitats provided for in it are included in the contracts of the farmers-tenants of municipal lands in the municipality of Karlovo.