Forest habitats in the southwest of Bulgaria, designated as priority for conservation in the Habitats Directive, are facing the common problem of reduced natural regeneration. This is threatening their habitat conservation status. Field data and working experience in the region, including that from previous LIFE projects such as BGNATURAGENEFUND (LIFE10 NAT/BG/000146), has shown that natural regeneration is either weak or does not exist in the target area of this LIFEFORHAB project. Therefore, in cases of habitat destruction or damage (e.g. by forest fires, and pest or disease outbreaks), forest habitats are not able to regenerate successfully, which leads to further reduction of habitat coverage and deterioration of habitat conservation status. The main factors causing poor regeneration are human pressures, including overgrazing, improper forestry practices, land use change, infrastructure development and uncontrolled forest fires; the spread of invasive species; a lack of natural reproductive material; and insufficient capacity within the forestry sector in Bulgaria for the sustainable management of priority forest habitats within the Natura 2000 network.

The overall objective of LIFEFORHAB is to improve the conservation status, and to increase the habitat coverage, of seven priority forest habitats listed in Annex I of the Habitats Directive, within six target Bulgarian Natura 2000 network sites.

Specific project objectives are to:

• Support the conservation of the gene pool of priority forest species and habitats;
• Secure the basis for future conservation and restoration efforts targeting priority forest habitats by developing infrastructure, ensuring necessary equipment, and building expert capacity;
• Demonstrate best practices for habitat restoration on a regional level over a total area of 104 ha, and foster the replication of results on a national level; and
• Increase the level of support from stakeholders and target groups for sustainable management of forest Natura 2000 network sites in Bulgaria.

Expected results:

• Sources of reproductive material from forest Natura 2000 network sites from all over Bulgaria identified;
• 7 291.70 kg of seeds collected and processed from 50 forest species representative of 14 priority habitats;
• Forest gene bank stocked with collected forest reproductive material to be used for future conservation actions targeting forest Natura 2000 network habitats;
• Installation of seed processing equipment at SWSFE nursery premises;
• Establishment of a high-capacity operational production line (1 million seedlings) for containerised seedlings (coniferous and deciduous);
• More than 860 000 containerised seedlings from priority forest species produced;
• 104 ha of 7 priority forest habitats restored within six target Natura 2000 network sites;
• Improved conservation status of three ha of the priority habitat, Endemic forests with Juniperus spp;
• Increased institutional capacity to ensure replication of project results in Bulgaria; and
• Raised public awareness of the conservation and restoration of priority forest habitats.