Four trainings for staff from the Regional Forest Directorates were held in the period from 3 to 13 of June 2019 within the project “Conservation of key forest habitats of the Lesser Spotted Eagle”, under the LIFE Programme of the European Union. A total of 200 forest control and conservation experts, forest inspectors, legal advisors and others participated in the “Networking of key stakeholders to support law enforcement related to sustainable management and conservation of forest habitats”.

Lecturers from the Executive Forest Agency and the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds presented the results achieved under the “Eagle’s Forests” project and their sustainability after its completion; the need to create a network of key stakeholders to support law enforcement related to sustainable management and conservation of forest habitats; the possibilities of using mobile applications to support the control in forest areas.

Important issues related to the practical implementation of the legislation were discussed. The issues of the rights, duties, and responsibilities of forest inspectors under the Forestry Act and Regulation No. 1 on the control and protection of forest areas, the mandate of forest inspectors and the obligations arising from the Administrative Offences and Penalties Act when drawing up indictment were touched upon. The main criteria for marking forest stands for felling and identification of the types of felling itself, as well as the most frequent errors and violations were also discussed.

During the trainings, the employees of the Executive Forest Agency who participated in the trainings raised many issues specific to the different regions of the country, discussed and shared practical experience, gave ideas and suggestions. The evaluation of all participants – trainers and trainees, indicated properly planned activities under the project “The Eagle’s Forests” and successfully conducted trainings necessary for sustainable management and conservation of forest habitats.