During the last decade, the rewilding of Bulgaria’s Rhodope Mountains has remodeled the panorama right into a showcase for nature restoration. Scaling up efforts to assist the comeback of cinereous vultures is the proper strategy to have fun this momentous milestone.
Georgi Kurtev
A unbelievable decade for rewilding
The Rewilding Rhodopes Basis celebrated its tenth anniversary in November, marking a decade of progress that has positioned the organisation on the forefront of Bulgaria’s efforts to revive nature. Over this era, the Rhodope Mountains rewilding panorama has developed right into a pioneering nature restoration showcase.
The native rewilding group’s collaborative efforts have seen the exceptional comeback of many species, reminiscent of European bison, Konik horses, griffon vultures, and pink and fallow deer. Just lately, the group have stepped up efforts to assist the comeback of cinereous vultures, which suggests the way forward for this iconic, massively spectacular scavenger within the panorama now seems even brighter.
Nikola Mitkov Arabadzhiev
In the direction of a wilder Rhodopes
Vultures are Europe’s most spectacular and well-known scavengers, delivering wide-ranging advantages to folks and nature as iconic keystone species. The Rhodope Mountains, which straddle the border between Bulgaria and Greece, are the final stronghold of those majestic birds within the Balkans.
The Rewilding Rhodopes group, in collaboration with native companion the Bulgarian Society for the Safety of Birds (BSPB), have already made important progress enhancing the native inhabitants of griffon vultures, which is now thriving. They’ve additionally taken steps to re-establish the cinereous vulture as a breeding species, overseeing releases in 2022 and 2023. Most of those birds are doing properly and have settled within the space, with two nesting makes an attempt this 12 months.
Stefan Stefanov
Taking vulture restoration to the subsequent degree
Kicking off in September, a brand new initiative entitled “LIFE Rhodope Vultures” will construct on efforts to assist cinereous vulture restoration within the Rhodope Mountains. Co-funded by the European Union’s LIFE programme and Rewilding Europe, it’s going to proceed the collaboration between the Rewilding Rhodopes Basis and the Bulgarian Society for the Safety of Birds.
Shifting forwards, round 40 extra cinereous vultures can be sourced from Spain and launched within the Rhodope Mountains rewilding panorama over the subsequent 5 years, with the intention of building a everlasting colony within the space. Efforts will even be made to guard and improve a cinereous vulture colony throughout the Bulgarian border in Greece’s Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli Nationwide Park.
Nelly Naydenova
Vast-ranging assist measures
Over the subsequent five-year interval, 25 vultures in Greece and 40 in Bulgaria can be tagged with GPS transmitters, serving to the group to watch their actions and adaption to the wild, and to handle threats to the birds reminiscent of poisoned baits, poaching, and collisions with energy strains and pylons.
Efforts will even deal with rising the provision of pure meals for vultures, which suggests they’re much less reliant on synthetic feeding stations. The Rhodope Mountains rewilding group and the Bulgarian Society for the Safety of Birds have been working for a few years to spice up the provision of untamed herbivore carcasses, which helps to revive pure meals webs and shut the circle of life. The companions have overseen a number of releases of pink and fallow deer at numerous websites throughout the panorama, with populations of each species now rising and steadily increasing their vary.
Bogdan Boev / Rewilding Europe
Boosting engagement and financial improvement
The recovering vulture populations within the Rhodope Mountains are proving a burgeoning attraction for wildlife lovers, with the event of a nature-based economic system enabling native communities to learn financially from wilder nature. The brand new initiative will proceed to foster cooperation amongst native companies, conservation initiatives, and stakeholders, whereas instructional and outreach programmes will increase consciousness of the ecological advantages of cinereous vultures.
The LIFE Rhodope Vultures initiative was formally launched at a kick-off assembly in November, which noticed over 40 representatives from twelve organisations in Bulgaria, Greece, Portugal, and Spain come collectively within the city of Ivaylovgrad. A vibrant, three-day vulture competition was additionally held within the city of Madzharovo in September to introduce the goals and actions of the initiative to the general public.
The restoration of vulture populations represents a step in the direction of realising the rewilding imaginative and prescient for the Rhodope Mountains, the place plentiful wildlife populations and pure processes reminiscent of scavenging assist to keep up the well being and performance of the panorama and profit native communities. With initiatives reminiscent of “LIFE Rhodope Vultures” now taking off, the long run for nature and folks within the Rhodopes seems much more promising.
Ivo Danchev
Invaluable assist
Rewilding Europe’s work in our rewilding landscapes is supported by a variety of extremely valued companions. We might significantly wish to acknowledge these offering core funding – notably the Ecological Restoration Fund, the Dutch Postcode Lottery, WWF-Netherlands, and Arcadia. Their longstanding assist performs a important function in enabling us to ship and scale up rewilding influence.
