02-07-2021 14:43
The ecological organizations play an important role for the changes in Bulgaria at the end of the 80’s of the past century. Despite raising voices of the civil society, due to existing obstacles and bans on organizing, joint initiatives for changes in the public life seemed impossible. The care for nature was a possibility for the active people to be together for a common cause that lead to some real changes. One of the established organizations in that period is The Bulgarian Society for Protection of the Birds (BSPB), which recently celebrated his 33rd birthday. On this occasion and in relation to the project of the organization supported by the EEA Grants, we are meeting Irina Mateeva – Officer for European Policies and Milena Ivanova – responsible for communications, as well as their loyal companion Rodger – the dog.
Why such organization are very important? Bulgaria is home for 420 species of birds, 14 of which are endangered. Through the country passes the second largest migration rout of the birds in Europe – Via Pontica. In addition to the research interest, an important role plays the coexistence of men and birds, the state of the wildlife reserves and the regular census of the birds. These topics gather scientists and nature lovers near the Atanasovsko Lake who came up with the idea of building an artificial island to facilitate the nesting of birds there and to protect them from predators.
30 years later, more precisely since September 2019, BSPB is working on a project “Science for citizens for benefit of local communities and nature”, supported by the Active Citizens Fund for Bulgaria of the EEA Financial Mechanism. The focus of the organization are the birds but working with people is what lies in heart of the project. “The idea for the project came so that we can give people the knowledge and confidence that they can be active and do things. To stand for their civil rights – the idea for a civil society, as it should be. We rely on the good will of the people. Of the volunteers. Of the people that care for the nature and want to help for that cause. No mater of their profession and age”, tells us Irina, who leads the courses and is the main coordinator of the project.
The Covid Pandemic made obvious the need for a change in the approach of educations – most of the activities of the project are implemented through virtual meetings and recordings of all courses are published on the YouTube channel of BSPB. The topics are ecological environmental legislation and its implementation, as well as a birdwatching courses, including through the SmartBirds Pro bird tracking application. Thus the project will reach more people in time and the effect will far exceed the set goals. Although the online trainings reaches more people, the discussions are possible only in live communication. However, removal of the Covid measures will allow the physical conduct of some of the events before the end of the project in September 2021.
The effect of the work so far exceeds what might be expected from a project with relatively low budget – near 140 000 Euro “The people are important. There are so many things that you could do, as long as you are with the right people. It should come from within. The financing is important, but is not the main thing. The non-governmental organizations usually work with a few people, the work is insecure, because the government is not funding ecological organizations. We are constantly searching for projects, donors and other sources of funding of our activities. The point is to have an approach toward the people and to find something for everyone to be involved and able to help“– says Irina.
One of the main activities of the organization was launched under the current project – the new edition of Atlas of Nesting Birds in Bulgaria. The previous one is from 2007 and is already a bibliographic rarity. Thanks to the SmartBirds Pro application and an active network of volunteers, the new edition promises to be even more comprehensive and interesting. We expect it to be released in 2025, and according to financial possibilities printed version could hit the market as well.
What else lies ahead for the “Science for citizens for the benefit of local communities and nature” initiative? At the end of August, the people who passed training for bird watching will gather near the Atanasovsko Lake. And in the beginning of September a meeting of the students on environmental legislation will be held. "Bird watching is a small individual activity. However, it is not recommended to do it alone. Up to 4 people is great," Irina shares firsthand experience. Then comes the task of sharing the accumulated information through SmartBirds, Facebook and YouTube.
The abbreviation BSPB, defines another important role of the organization - to be the link between people and institutions working for the birds. "We want to help the institutions to do a better job," Irina said, adding that the more citizens help by reporting cases, the greater the chance that they will be heard and the wheel to start moving.
Over the last 10 years, BSPB has implemented several other projects, supported by Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, through environmental and non-governmental programs. Among them is the so-called "Monitoring of common bird species" – a Pan-European initiative for monitoring of common bird species and their population. For Bulgaria it started in 2004 and continues up to this day. Thanks to this project we understand the effect of agricultural policies to the bird’s life. The active participation of volunteers is essential. Each participant is assigned a site with a size of 1 sq. Km, which is randomly selected by a computer. The square is visited several times during the year - between 15.04 and 15.05 and from 15.05 to 15.06. It is traversed by a special route and all species of birds are listed by number and species and are indicated on the map. The trend is calculated with statistical methods for population estimation after the data for the whole territory of Bulgaria is available. Involving of more people in the process is so important.
Another project draws attention to the white stork - one of the most popular and beloved birds in Bulgaria. Again, we rely on the SmartBirds platform, which provides data on the number of nests and their inhabitants. Irina shares about the project: “The system works. If we give the right message to the people and say exactly what we need, they will extend a hand. “
We are concluding our story with another history lesson - in 1992 BSPB was accepted as a representative for Bulgaria in the oldest international organization for the protection of birds - BirdLife International. A recognition earned after years of work and dedicated care. This is how people in organization think and act. They are guided by the principle - "We take care of the birds, because we care about the future." They will be happy if you can help. You can do this by becoming a member of BSPB and joining the Society or by supporting its work with a donation.
