State: Burgas, YambolArea: 53816,60 ха
Ownership: state - 20%; municipality - 33%; private - 47%;
Description:
The Western Strandzha is located in south-eastern Bulgaria. It covers the western parts of the Strandzha Mountain. To the north it borders on the villages of Dennitsa, Oman, Granites, Slivovo and Bogdanovo. The reservoir of Malko Sharkovo and the villages Stefan Karadzhovo, Dubovo, Ruzhitsa and Voden are located on the west of it. The estern limit of the site reach the villages of Bogdanovo Varovnik, Kirovo and Belevren and to the south it coincides with the state border. Its territory includes several types of habitats, the biggest area being occupied by farmland, pastures and shrubs. The broadleaved forests of are representaed by oak Quercus cerris and Quercus frainetto forests with Mediterranean elements. In the most southern part there are oak forests of Quercus polycarpa and Fagus moesiaca. The woodlands are alternating with open arable lands, pastures, grass formations, vineyards and orchards. The upper streams of water catchment basins of the rivers of Sredetska and Fakyiska are on the territory of the Western Strandzha.
Birds:
The Western Strandzha supports 112 bird species, 25 of which are listed in the Red Data Book for Bulgaria (1985). Of the birds occurring there 53 species are of European conservation concern (SPEC) (BirdLife International, 2004), 4 of them being listed in category SPEC 1 as globally threatened, 16 in SPEC 2 and 33 in SPEC 3 as species threatened in Europe. The area provides suitable habitats for 37 species, included in Annex 2 of the Biodiversity Act, which need special conservation measures, of which 35 are listed also in Annex I of the Birds Directive. Western Strandzha is an area of global importance for the globally threatened Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca that breeds there. It is among the most valuable areas in the country on the level of Eiropean Union for this species, as well as for the conservation of other 8 bird species – Saker Falcon Falco cherrug, Black Kite Milvus migrans, Montagu’s Harrier Circus pygargus, Calandra Lark Melanocorhypha calandra, Masked Shrike Lanius nubicus, Olive-tree Warbler Hippolais olivetorum and Middle Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos medius. The area holds also significant breeding populations on the European level of Syrian Woodpecker Dendrocopos syriacus, Little Owl Athene noctua and Crested Lark Galerida cristata. The Levant Sparrowhawk Accipiter brevipes, the Black Stork Ciconia nigra, the Stone Curlew Burchinus oedicnemus, the Greater Short-toed Lark Calandrella brachydactyla and the Olive-tree Warbler Hippolais olivetorum breed in Western Strandzha in considerable numbers on national scale.
Threats:
The region of Western Strandzha is used extensively by local people mainly for livestock and to less extend for agriculture and forestry. Reduction in grazing following by succession of shrubs and forest, as well as conversion of pastures to arable lands cause loss of grassland habitats for birds. The pesticides used there for agriculture are dangerous for birds. The dry grasslands are particularly vulnerable to fires both natural and artificial burning of pastures. During the dry years large parts of the site are burned by fires. The forests in Western Strandzha are relatively small patches dispersed amongst open landscapes. Forestry activities related to cutting affect directly raptors, because the species use only the trees to build the nests. Illegal cutting, firewood collection and afforestation with non-typical species degrade the quality of forest habitats. One of the potential threats both to the habitats and to the birds in the area is the development of wind turbine farms. The hunting, collection of animals and the fishing cause disturbance to birds.
Legal protection:
There are 5 protected areas in the site. They cover less than 1% of the territory. 4 of them are nature monuments designated in 1973. The “Nevestin grad” Protected Area was designated in 1990 to protect the natural habitat of protected and rare bird species. In 2005 it was designated also as Important Bird Area by BirdLife International.
