Bulgaria's Old-Growth Forests Win Citizens' Award at Natura 2000 Awards
Bulgaria's old-growth forests won the European Citizens' Award, which is one of the six Natura 2000 Awards for 2020, said the Executive Forest Agency (EFA). This country's old growth forests were noted for the remarkable achievement in management and conservation under Natura 2000, the EU-wide network of protected sites.
The winners were announced in an online Award Ceremony in Brussels on Wednesday. Bulgaria was among the 27 finalists out of 79 entrants from the EU and the UK.
EFA Deputy Executive Director Tsenko Tsenov said the award is a recognition of the foresters' efforts over many years and of the partnership between the Agency and environmental organizations.
The statutory protection of old-growth forests dates from 2016 when 110,000 hectares of state-owned forests in Bulgaria were designated for protection and excluded from harvesting, which practically doubled the existing reserves.
EFA experts and representatives of WWF Bulgaria, the Association of Parks in Bulgaria and the Balkani Wildlife Society participated in the award ceremony.
Source: BTA Daily