Justification
Significant changes in forestry sector have been arisen in Bulgaria during last 10 years, e.g. private properties originated, harmonization with the new EU legislation, new market rules, etc.
Problem 1: Lack of ecosystem approach in forestry management (Link between biodiversity conservation and forestry practices)
Problem 2: Serious damages caused by forest fires, e.g. large-scale forest fire in Hvoina area with at least 9,000 ha burnt forests
Problem 3: Old traditional forestry practices
Problem 4: Weak public involvement in general forestry management and biodiversity protection
Problem 5: Lack of enough local capacity for sustainable forestry management and development

Location ? Chepelare Municipality area (Smolyan region, Southern Bulgaria)

Project Target Groups
The proposal is oriented to all interested parties in forestry sector:
? State administration represented by State Forestry Units (Chepelare, Hvoina), Regional Forestry Board of Smolyan, Regional Environmental Inspectorate of Smolyan, River Basin Directorate in Plovdiv;
? Municipality of Chepelare as a local authority;
? Land and forest owners incl. forestry cooperations;
? NGOs in biodiversity conservation and regional development;
? Tourist business sector;
? Other local authorities and forestry management authorities (lessons learned dissemination)

Goal and expected impacts
The Project goal is to achieve cost-effective, sustainable and long-term biodiversity conservation in forests within the Municipality of Chepelare through:
- Introducing modern practices for strategic forestry management planning
- Multifunctional forestry management
- Public participation in forestry sector
- Strengthening the local capacity for biodiversity conservation in forest habitats.

Expected impacts:
­ Protected biodiversity
­ Restored forest habitats with high bio-conservation value
­ General public involved in decision-making process related to forestry management policy at local and regional levels
­ Improved communication ability among forest owners and coordination of their activities
­ Carbon sequestration capacity improved
­ Prevention measures against forest fires

Objectives and expected results
The following major objectives (and relevant results) are identified:
? Preparing a Plan for multifunctional forestry management and monitoring programme;
? Strengthening the capacity for assessment and control of biodiversity in forests, conservation value acc. to FSC, biodiversity conservation aspects in 10-year Forestry Management Plans;
? Restoration of burned forest habitats.

Major activities
­ Preparing and approving a Plan for multifunctional forestry management for the area of Chepelare Municipality;
­ Making a technical design and implementing afforestation activities within the areas damaged by forest fires;
­ Preparing GIS model on the area of Chepelare Municipality;
­ Implementing three new elements for biodiversity management in forest ecosystems: SILVA classification, FSC bio-conservation value, biodiversity assessment in 10-year Forestry Management Plans.
Results coming from the above-mentioned three assessments and GIS modeling will be used for preparing the Plan for multifunctional forestry management in Chepelare Municipality area.

Partnership with GEF SGP proposals/projects
There is no partnership with other GEF SGP proposals/projects. In the meantime, a lot of connections and partnerships exist with projects funded by other programmes:
Forestry Cooperation ?Orehovo Forests? is mostly private properties. There is an ongoing small project entitled ?Multifunctional management of private forests in Bulgaria and implementing sustainable forestry practices. Pilot area: Orehovo Forests? financed by UNDP-GEF Rodopi Project.
Project ?Project Conservation of Globally Significant Biodiversity in the Landscape of Bulgarias Rhodope Mountains?, also known as the Rhodope Project, is a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
Sustainability
Approval and implementation of the Multifunctional Forestry Plan will directly ensure the project follow-up activities.
Integration of multifunctional forestry practices in various plans and strategic documents such as 10-year Forestry Management Plans (Chepelare, Hvoina), Regional Development Plan of Chepelare Municipality, Strategy for tourism of Chepelare, etc. will significantly contribute to the project sustainability.
Strengthened local capacity in the field of nature conservation will play an important role for sustainability as well.

Project Budget
Total: 88,000 BGN, from GEF SGP: 42,370 BGN (48,15%), Co-financing: 45,630 BGN (50,7%)