Petition for continuation of the information and nature protection activities of Green Balkans in the Pomorie Lake Visitor Center

Dear friends and supporters,

This petition aims to preserve the civic character, nature conservation objectives and good practices in the management of the Pomorie Lake Visitor Center. As of 20.08.2020, according to a contract dated 29.05.2015, the Center must pass into the hands of the Pomorie Municipality. Green Balkans, as the initiator for the Center’s establishment, expresses a desire to sign an Annex, which allows the management of the Center for at least the next 3 years.

Green Balkans as a public non-profit organization acts as a guarantor that the Center will continue to fulfil the environmental purposes it was built for and that the organization‘s expertise related to educational and environmental activities will be used.

We insist on concrete evidence that the Visitor Center will continue to fulfill the environmental and educational goals it was established for, according to the will of the donor who financed the project - the Global Environment Facility through the World Bank. The implementation of the Center’s functions requires expert potential, which the Pomorie Municipality simply does not have. Therefore, we have no guarantee that the Center will continue to carry out its normal activities.

We address all citizens who care about nature and education to sign the petition, thus being a guarantor for the protection of biodiversity in the Pomorie Lake, which is of European and world importance.

Sign the petition and support the Green Balkans’ efforts to continue managing the Pomorie Lake Visitor Center.

Additional information:

In 2010, the Pomorie Lake Visitor Center opened its doors, thanks to a project initiated by Green Balkans and funded by the Global Environment Facility through the World Bank. The land on which the Visitor Center is built is public-municipal property and is provided by the Pomorie Municipality. As municipal properties cannot be provided for use for more than 10 years, after approval by the Municipal Council, a contract was concluded between the Pomorie Municipality and Green Balkans, which established the right Green Balkans to use the Visitor Center for 10 years. According to the donor’s will, the Pomorie Lake Visitor Center functions are solely related to education and nature protection and cannot be changed as long as the Visitor Center exists.

For the last 25 years Green Balkans has been working for nature protection and habitat restoration of rare species on Pomorie Lake. During this period, thanks to the help of over 450 volunteers and international donors, including the UN Global Environment Facility and EU programs for numerous activities, significant results have been achieved, the most important of which are: · the declaration of the Pomorie Lake Protected Area under the Protected Areas Act / Order No. RD-31 of 23.01.2001, no. 16/2001 of the State Gazette /;

· Restoration of habitats and rescue of the Sandwich Tern from extinction. By 1996, only 6 breeding pairs of the rare species remained. This provoked us to launch a long-term program for its recovery. 8 artificial islands with a total area of ​​3500 sq.m have been built and nowadays a quarter of a century later the number of birds has reached over 3000 nesting pairs and the species has not only been saved, but the colony in Pomorie Lake is the largest on the Balkan Peninsula. This success has been recognized by world and European experts and international organizations such as the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention, the European Commission, the Global Environment Facility, the World Bank, etc .; · Restoration of the habitats of other rare and protected bird species like the Pied Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Common and Little Тern, etc .;

· In compliance with the requirements of the nature protection legislation and thank to funds the organization managed to ensure, we have developed an integrated management plan for the Pomorie Lake Protected Area. More than 40 established national and international experts from various fields of science and nature protection were involved in its preparation;

· Celebrating important ecological dates with students and citizens from Pomorie and other cities. The Visitor Center, built in 2010 with funds raised from Green Balkans, is an important tool for the implementation of all of these activities. The construction of the Center was funded by the Global Environment Facility. The building and the premises of the Center are vital for the nature protection activities such as monitoring and protection of the nesting colonies.

On our website: https://greenbalkans.org/natura2000/newhorisons/en/-Green-Balkans-are-forced-to-leave-the-Pomorie-Lake-Visitor-Center-.p975

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/ZeleniBalkani/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10157509434604327&__tn__=-UC-R

Зелени Балкани    Contact the author of the petition