Help WWF bring the lynx back to Bulgaria

Project Report | Apr 4, 2023
What does the lynx need to return to Bulgaria?

By Denitsa Raykova | Donor Relations and Care Specialist

This spring WWF Bulgaria is dedicating its traditional Earth Hour campaign to the conservation of wildlife in Bulgaria. The campaign focuses on the restoration of habitats that provide homes and food for key ecosystem species. One such species is the lynx - the beautiful and secretive big cat that once proudly roamed the Bulgarian forests.

One of the directions in which we at WWF are working is the creation of new protected areas and better connectivity of existing ones. For the lynx to make a comeback, it needs a safe home. A place where it feels relaxed enough to stay and produce offspring.

According to WWF specialists, one of the biggest problems facing large carnivores in Bulgaria is their need for large territories and the need for connectivity between their habitats, which are not always within the borders of just one country.

Dealing with this problem is among the leading goals of our organization - namely, to achieve the designation of new areas with varying degrees of protection to connect the fragmented habitats and create conditions for the return of long extinct species.

"The lynx is a key species. Key species have a major impact on the ecosystem by controlling the dominance of other species or altering habitat structure. The presence of the lynx also means that the ecosystem that provides us with water, clean air, food, raw materials for medicines and energy is also healthy," says Nada Tosheva, Head of the Wildlife Conservation Programme at WWF Bulgaria.

The last officially registered Balkan lynx in Bulgaria was killed in 1941. Since then the species is considered extinct from the country.

"In the last 15 years more and more unofficial reports of spotted or illegally killed lynx in Bulgaria have started to appear. In the autumn of 2008, a photo trap set up in Osogovo mountain to monitor badgers recorded a young male lynx. This is believed to be the first real evidence of lynx presence in the country. But whether we will create conditions for its population development depends only on us," says Alexander Dutsov, Senior Expert in the Wildlife Conservation Programme at WWF Bulgaria.

In early 2023, WWF submitted proposals to the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water for the designation of ten new protected areas. Two of them are potential lynx habitats. The decision is now in the hands of the Ministry and WWF experts are waiting for feedback so they can continue their work on the ground.

Will the new protected areas be approved? Will the lynx return to Bulgaria? We sincerely hope so and will continue to work towards these goals.

We will keep you posted for any news of the reappearing of the lynx in Bulgaria!

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for helping us in our mission to create a world where humans live in harmony with nature!

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Jan 3, 2023
By fighting illegal logging, we protect wildlife

By Denitsa Raykova | Donor Relations and Care Specialist

Crimes against nature are among the most lucrative criminal activities in the world. They generate revenues of $280 billion a year. According to Interpol, illegal logging accounts for the largest share of this sum. Statistics show that forest crimes generate financial losses of between $51 billion and $152 billion globally each year.

The consequences of illegal logging

Illegal logging is a problem with serious environmental, social and economic impacts. It damages forests, forest biodiversity, and ecosystems. It is detrimental to the interests of local people and communities, and harms responsible businesses that work with forest resources.

The gray sector in forestry in Bulgaria generates hidden revenues of around BGN 150 million annually through illegal timber harvesting. In addition to causing colossal financial losses, logging hinders forests from effectively performing their natural functions. All this leads to serious environmental consequences such as habitat alteration for protected species, disruption of important biocorridors, species loss, and soil erosion.

More data to come

WWF Bulgaria's forest experts investigate the numerous reports of illegal logging that we receive from all over the country. Over the years, we have responded to hundreds of signals.

The latest analysis, prepared by WWF and officially presented in 2018, shows that the annual volume of illegal logging in Bulgaria reaches 2.4 - 2.7 million cubic meters, or between 1/4 and 1/3 of the total harvest. The report reveals the various illegal logging schemes, covering the period from the calculation of the stock of stands in the inventory, through the marking of trees for logging to the shipment of the harvested timber.

In order to establish the real scale of illegal logging in Bulgaria and its likely negative consequences, WWF Bulgaria has undertaken the difficult task of preparing a new up-to-date analysis on the subject. Work on the document is expected to be completed in mid-2023 and it will be made public.

Illegal logging not only threatens the local economy but puts at risk many of the last old-growth forests in Eastern Europe, which are located in Bulgaria.

We will not stop fighting this criminal activity. Because by fighting it, we are protecting the home of wildlife and making sure bears, lynxes and many more will continue to exist. Ultimately, this is another way to help create a world where animals and people live in harmony.

Stay tuned for more news on forest restoration and protection in Bulgaria!

Thank you for being our supporter!

P.S Check out this video to learn how modern technology can help in the fight with illegal logging.

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Oct 3, 2022
Can we afford to stop protecting protected areas?

By Elena Gancheva | Fundraising manager

First, a small reminder of what is after all a protected area and why it exists.

According to the Bulgarian Law on Protected areas a certain area with exceptional biodiversity with significance not only for itself but also for all people living around must be protected from all human activity and be left alone to its natural processes.

That’s why we have national parks. Establishing a national park has one main purpose – to preserve all plants and animals on its area. This is one of the highest form of protection. But is it really so?

Several years ago there was yet another attempt to destroy the precious forests of Pirin National Park. A permission was given to perform the so-called sanitary logging – a practice trying to prevent or minimise the impact of natural disturbances such as insects, fungus, windstorms and forest fire. While this might be good in less important forests or in the ones planted by people for timber, it’s outrageous when we talk about pure and virgin natural forests where only Nature can be “the boss”.

Those trees, doomed to be severely cut, would be used for firewood. Burned and gone for minutes instead of providing home for hundreds of species many of which endangered ones – owls, bats, bears to name a few.

We couldn’t allow that to happen. WWF’s forest experts immediately appealed it in court and after years of expensive battles, just last month, we received the decision of the final instance – the Supreme Administrative Court.

We won! And we won big!

Cutting trees in Pirin National Park is illegal and has to stop at once. More than that, the court’s decision applies to all three national parks and the nature reserves in them. It already has the power to be applied in all future cases of similar issues.

Did we have time to celebrate? Not at all.

Because only a few days later the Ministry of Environment blatently disregarded the court decision and issued permits to log in all the national parks in Bulgaria – Pirin, Rila and Central Balkan.

We will not stop protecting the protected areas and thanks to your support we will be able to stand against all attempts to destroy Bulgaria’s precious forests and all living creatures in them – from the little birds to the mighty bears.

Stay tuned for further news.

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More about the court case on logging in Pirin National Park

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