FWFF shares nature conservation efforts in Sakar SPA (BG0002021) with Green Balkans.

Sakar SPA, near the Turkish border, features rounded hills and open river valleys, and has been a focus of our NGO since 2008. It now boasts a deer facility and a livestock farm. Locals use the land for livestock, agriculture, and forestry. These practices, especially intensified agriculture, threaten the area by reducing grazing, converting pastures to farmland, and using harmful pesticides. Dry grasslands are at risk from fires, both natural and man-made. Despite these challenges, Sakar SPA is vital as a stepping stone between the only wild Cinereous Vulture colony in the Balkans and the restored breeding core in Kotlenska Planina SPA. It’s also part of the vulture migration route to the Bosphorus, making it crucial to establish as a Vulture Safe Area to aid young or disoriented individuals.