Photo: © Southeastern State Enterprise
The issue of fires in recent weeks threatens not only people and settlements but also valuable natural habitats that are home to a vast diversity of species, some of which are globally endangered. The fires have led to an apocalyptic scene in Sakar and Western Strandzha, with burnt villages and domestic animals, and the biodiversity has been severely damaged. Many trees have been affected, including poplars with Imperial Eagle nests, as well as trees planted 20 years ago by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) as part of efforts to improve nesting habitats for the species.
In some areas, both old and new eagle nests have been burned, as well as three of the artificial nests placed to attract Imperial Eagle pairs. Fortunately, no young birds were lost, as the eaglets successfully fledged days before the fire. Some of the species’ territories have been entirely affected by the fires. Grassland habitats, purchased by the BSPB to be preserved and maintained in a nature-friendly manner, have also been damaged by the disaster.
Photo: © Atanas Delchev/BSPB
For another rare species that BSPB has been working to protect for many years—the Lesser Spotted Eagle—the fire issue is also severe. The fire has affected valuable habitats, though the nests regularly monitored by the BSPB under the LIFE project “LIFE for Eagle’s Habitats” have been preserved. However, other nests of the species in the area have suffered immeasurable damage.
Territories of the Short-toed Eagle, the Booted Eagle, the Northern Goshawk, and the Common Buzzard have also been destroyed, with their nests burning in the fire, likely with young birds in some of them.
Forest fires continue to rage in various parts of the country, including Sakar and Western Strandzha. The full extent of the consequences and effects of the fires on nature and biodiversity in Bulgaria will become clearer over time.
The BSPB is working together with foresters from the Southeastern State Enterprise and the state forestry units in the area to restore coniferous plantations affected by fires within the framework of the “From Iron Curtain to Green Belt: Restoring Ecological Networks in Southeast Bulgaria” project. At the end of 2023, over 700 decares were reforested with oak trees, replacing pine forests that burned in the Sakar fire in 2021. However, this year’s fires have burned the pine plantations saved at that time and have covered significantly larger areas. The atypical pine plantations in the area are among the most fire-prone, which is why the goal of the reforestations within the project is to restore natural oak forests, which are more fire-resistant and recover quickly. A total of 31,800 decares of pine cultures in Western Strandzha and Sakar will be converted into oak forests as part of the project, which in the future will also reduce the risk of fires in the area.
Photo: © Atanas Delchev/BSPB
The primary cause of forest fires is human negligence. A moment of carelessness can lead to serious environmental and economic consequences. The recovery of a forest after a fire can sometimes take more than a human lifetime. Currently, the affected area in the country is over 60,000 decares, which is 10 times more than the same period last year. If a fire is spotted in the forest, it is necessary to immediately report it to 112.
Regular monitoring of the nesting habitats of the Imperial Eagle and the Lesser Spotted Eagle is carried out within the projects “From Iron Curtain to Green Belt: Restoring Ecological Networks in Southeast Bulgaria”, funded financed under the Endangered Landscapes Programme (ELSP), and “LIFE for Eagle’s Habitats”.