Restoration of the Cinereous vulture population and trophic chain in the Bulgarian-Greek cross-border region

Introduction

The project is focused on the recovery of the iconic Cinereous vulture in one of the vulture’s strongholds in Europe – the Rhodope mountains. In the Balkan Peninsula, the Cinereous vulture is restricted to only one small colony located in Greece, consisting of 32 pairs, and recently reintroduced birds in Central Bulgaria, where 3 pairs had fledglings in 2023.

Current Challenges

The small population in Greece still experiences high unnatural mortality, which threatens its long-term survival. The project intends to use a holistic approach in addressing the anthropogenic threats, improving the ecosystem and the trophic chain, and benefiting at the same time a top scavenger.

Proposed Actions

The actions will include:

1. Boosting the anti-poisoning work in Greece, where poisoning is the main factor preventing the Cinereous vulture from increasing, unlike in Spain, where the population has increased.
2. Including anti-poisoning actions in the daily work of the state forest services.
3. Creating joint dog patrols with NGOs and hunters.

The project will also mitigate the human-wildlife conflict that is the root cause of poisoning.

Enhancing Food Sources

Substantial efforts will be dedicated to increasing the natural food base through:

• Reintroduction of deer.
• Increasing the number of semi-wild horses.
• Applying for the first time in Bulgaria the EU legislation that allows feeding outside feeding stations to support both vultures and the management of dead animals by farmers.

Addressing Additional Threats

We envisage other actions to reduce threats, namely:

• Lead intoxication.
• Collision with wind farms.

Urgent Response to Environmental Disasters

The project will be an urgent effort to mitigate the effect of the mega fire that destroyed almost the whole breeding area of the species in Greece in 2023.

Long-term Goals

We aim to establish a new breeding colony in Bulgaria, thus boosting the species recovery and decreasing the risk of regional extinction. The project will have a substantial effect in other policy areas as it tackles wind farm development, management of protected areas, and supports farming close to nature.