Coordinating beneficiary
Rewilding Europe
Rewilding Europe wants to make Europe a wilder place, with much more space for wildlife, wilderness and natural processes. Bringing back the variety of life for us all to enjoy and exploring new ways for people to earn a fair living from the wild. Rewilding Europe presents a vision in which wild nature is recognised as an indispensable part of Europe’s natural and cultural heritage and a necessary building block for a modern, prosperous and healthy society. We aim for an approach to nature conservation in Europe, where the concept of wild nature and natural processes is accepted as one of the main management principles. Rewilding Europe seeks to inspire a broad movement to shape a wilder version of our continent.
Associated beneficiaries
Bulgarian Society for Protection of Birds (BSPB)
The BSPB is one of the largest national membership NGOs that has been working for 27 years to preserve Bulgaria’s wild birds and their habitats for the benefit of the people. The BSPB has 14 branches and local groups, operates two Nature Conservation Centres, and five regional offices the work of which focuses on implementing the concept of the Important Bird Areas and establishing functionally connected network of SPAs.
Hellenic Ornithological Society (HOS)
Hellenic Ornithological Society – HOS was founded in 1982 and is a Non-Governmental, nation-wide, non-profit Organisation, the only one in Greece that deals exclusively with the protection of Wild Birds and their habitats. HOS is the national partner of BirdLife International in Greece. HOS, as BirdLife partner in Greece, promotes and participates in all conservation actions for vultures in Greece, in particular those implemented at a national level. Over the years, HOS has implemented several projects for the protection of avian scavenger species all over Greece, with actions that ranged from the monitoring of vulture populations to the creation of supplementary feeding sites.
Vulture concervation foundation (VCF)
The VCF is an international foundation committed to the conservation of European vultures. The VCF has extensive experience in captive breeding, reintroduction and protection of vultures in their natural habitats. All species of European vultures have a vulnerable status – some are endangered or near threatened even at global level-, and their ranges have been severely limited in the last century. Threats such as illegal poisoning, limited food availability and collisions (in wind farms and power lines) and electrocution (in electricity pylons) put the recovery currently observed in some populations at risk. With the isolation of most breeding populations and the low productivity of some species, it is difficult to ensure the survival of these species in the long term.
WWF Greece
WWF Greece is the Greek national office of the WWF global network, although fully aligned with the network’s targets and principals; it is financially independent and develops its strategy according to Greek conservation priorities. WWF Greece’s mission is to conserve Greece’s valuable natural heritage, as an integral part of the Mediterranean, and to promote a future where humans live in harmony with nature. Its mission is achieved through its conservation programme, which is currently structured in 2 main axes: (A) Biodiversity and (B) Footprint reduction. WWF Greece has a long history of on-the-ground conservation projects implemented over the last 25 years. One of these projects is implemented in the National Park of Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli forest which is one of the most important national and European habitats for vultures and birds of prey. WWF’s long term continuous presence and efforts has secured the legal status of this area, the protection and the management of the vultures and the active involvement of local stakeholders. Our team adjusted every time to the new conditions by engaging in varied activities based on the results of its studies, thus the last 10 years is implemented programs not only in the Dadia National Park but in Thrace including 5 SPAs important for vultures and birds of prey.
Rewilding Rhodopes Foundation
Rewilding Rhodopes Foundation is a legal non-profit entity which inherited the nature conservation activities of the New Thracian Gold project in the region of the Eastern Rhodopes. The main activities of the Foundation are connected with natural grazing of Red and Fallow deer and wild horses in the Rhodopes mountains. Its mission is achieved through: promoting and implementing restoration and conservation of natural processes and biodiversity in cooperation with stakeholders; bringing back the variety of wildlife and exploring new ways for people to earn a fair living from the wild; finding new economic drivers to financially support the wilderness areas; stimulating and improving sustainable green tourism in Bulgaria in cooperation with local, regional and national parties.
Networking
LIFE Rupis
Life Rupis – Conservation of Egyptian Vulture and Bonelli’s Eagle in the Douro Valley’ is a transboundary conservation project, with a duration of 4 years (2015 – 2019), co-financed by the European Union through the LIFE Programme funding instrument. The project, which takes place on the Portuguese-Spanish border,across the protected areas of the International Douro River, the valley of Águeda River, and Arribes del Duero, aims to strengthen the populations of Egyptian Vulture and Bonelli’s Eagle in these areas by reducing mortality and improving breeding success.
New Life for the vultures
Тhe Bright Future for Black Vulture LIFE14 NAT/BG/649 Project unites the efforts of five main partners from four European countries – Green Balkans – Stara Zagora and the Fund for Wild Flora and Fauna (FWFF) from Bulgaria, the Vulture Conservation Foundation (VCF) from the Netherlands, Junta de Extremadura from Spain and Euronatur from Germany. It provides for the restoration of Black Vulture in Bulgaria through import and release of birds from Spain, improving the nesting conditions and food source.
The Return of the Neophron
The LIFE+ project “The Return of the Neophron” (LIFE10 1NAT/BG/000152) is bringing together 4 nature-protective non-governmental organizations from 3 countries determined to prevent the extinction of the globally threatened Egyptian Vulture from the Balkans. The actions envisaged by this project addressed the most relevant threats and problems for the conservation of the species. The project will address both the direct threats to the target species as well as a number of key problems that have been highlighted at both the Greek and Bulgarian national level. The most important threats being the high mortality rate caused by poisoning, direct persecution, accidents caused by human infrastructure and contaminated food.
Funding and donors
European Union
The European Union is the world’s largest donor of official development assistance. EuropeAid Development and Cooperation, a Directorate General of the European Commission, is responsible for designing European development policy and delivering aid throughout the world. EuropeAid delivers aid through a set of financial instruments with a focus on ensuring the quality of EU aid and its effectiveness. An active and proactive player in the development field, we promote good governance, human and economic development and tackle universal issues, such as fighting hunger and preserving natural resources.
A. G. Leventis Foundation
Established in May 1979, the A. G. Leventis Foundation in addition to its extensive public benefit programme and its pioneering activity in the areas of environmental protection and medical research – demonstrates significant involvement in the study of the culture and history of Cyprus, Greece and the Hellenism of the Diaspora. Through an international programme supporting Greek studies (with the fostering of various educational activities, the systematic granting of scholarships, the ongoing contribution to academic research and the production of scientific publications the Foundation consistently adheres to A. G Leventis’ vision.
MAVA
Dr. Luc Hoffmann established MAVA in 1994 as an expression of his long personal commitment to conservation. The foundation mostly focuses on the conservation of biodiversity. The MAVA’s philosophy has always been to work through partnerships. Since the foundation started, it has supported more than 560 projects, implemented by over 220 different organizations. These include international and local NGOs, research institutions, universities and occasionally government bodies or individuals.
The Green Fund
The Green Fund is a public-law entity reporting to the Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy. It is the mission of the Green Fund to support development through environmental protection with administrative, economic, technical and financial support coming from programs, measures, measures and actions aimed at preserving and enhancing the environment, supporting the environmental policy of the country and serving the public and social interest through the administration, management and utilization of its resources. The project RE Vultures is implemented with the financial support of the Green Fund.