Economic benefits provided by NATURA 2000 discussed in Pomorie

Good practices were presented through local products and services

Pomorie today hosted the forum “A Shared Vision for the NATURA 2000 Ecological Network in the Burgas Region”. This was the first day of an information campaign which uses local products and services to present to stakeholders the benefits of the Natura 2000 ecological network for local communities, good practice from other countries, as well as the opportunities for European funding.

The event was held under the title “Gifts of the Sea” and was dedicated to salt production from Pomorie Lake and to Pomorie mud and lye. It was attended by landowners and land users, representatives of local structures and organisations, tour operators and travel agents from the region. They visited the Salt Museum in the “Pomorie Lake” protected area, where they learned about the fascinating history of the ancient livelihood of Anchialos – salt production.

The programme continued with a presentation on the protected zones and protected areas in the Burgas region, delivered by Milena Yarmova from the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water – Burgas.

A particularly lively discussion was prompted by the report of Yasen Georgiev from the Economic Policy Institute on the opportunities for European funding and good practice regarding the economic and social benefits of NATURA 2000. Many of the landowners in protected zones shared that, in practice, any investment intentions in these territories are restricted, even though in principle there are no legal obstacles to them. Most often the reason why things do not happen is the protests of conservation organisations and certain omissions in the translation of the European directives into Bulgarian.

Assoc. Prof. Zahariy Dechev from the “Prof. Dr Asen Zlatarov” University of Burgas spoke about the application of Pomorie lye and therapeutic mud and their use in balneological, spa and wellness treatments.

The Pomorie producer Grudimir Grudev introduced the audience to the wide range of his own products under the ANCHIALO trade mark, made from salt and lye. As an example of good practice, the Grand Hotel Pomorie presented its specific programmes of wellness treatments using Pomorie mud and lye.

In this attractive and engaging way, through local products and services, the stakeholders became acquainted not only with the environmental, but also with the economic and social benefits that Natura 2000 provides. This is precisely the main aim of the project for a shared vision of the ecological network – to raise awareness among local communities in the Burgas region of its environmental, economic and social benefits, while at the same time providing support for achieving a better state of conservation of the species and habitats in the protected zones in the region.

The beneficiary of the project “A Shared Vision for the Natura 2000 Ecological Network in the Burgas Region”, within which the information campaign “Natura 2000 and the Gifts of Nature” is being carried out, is the “Bulgarian Black Sea Coast” National Association. The initiative is funded by the Environment Operational Programme, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund of the European Union.

According to research by the European Commission, the benefits arising from Natura 2000 are estimated at between EUR 200 and 300 billion per year. In Europe, around 4.4 million jobs and EUR 405 billion in annual turnover (based on 2013 data) are directly linked to the maintenance of healthy ecosystems, a significant part of which are located within Natura 2000.

At the same time, production activities in NATURA 2000 zones contribute to maintaining and protecting biodiversity, while organic production is an additional opportunity and development path that can be pursued both within the ecological network and outside it.

Source: http://www.desant.net/