Sustainable Herbal Harvest in Project

LIFE12 INF BG 000105

Co-funded by the Information and component of the European Commission’s Financial Instrument for the Environment – LIFE+

www.susherbsbg.eu This is the first Bulgarian project to be funded through this component and one of the nine to be selected for funding from the whole of the European Union in the 2012 call.

Coordinating Foundation Information and Nature Conservation beneficiary www.ecologybg.com

Associated Bulgarian National Radio www.bnr.bg and beneficiaries EcoLogic Consultancy www.ecologybg.com

Duration 30 months (October 1, 2013 – March 31, 2016)

Budget 292, 920 Euro

Region For the Bulgarian National Radio campaign and other national and regional media – the whole country.

For all other project actions – region (18 municipalities, over 750 000 residents – 10% of the population of the country)

Steering Committee (a committee overseeing the implementation of the project): Representatives of: The Bulgarian National Radio; The National Agricultural Advisory Service; South Central State Forestry Enterprise; Directorate of Central Balkan National Park; Plovdiv Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water; Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water; Plovdiv Regional Agriculture Directorate; the Municipal Administration; the Agricultural University in Plovdiv; the Laboratory for Biologically Active Substances of the Institute for Organic Chemistry of the Bulgarian Academy of Science; the Bulgarian Association of Herb and Mushroom Traders, producers of seed and propagation material and other stakeholders.

2 The Steering The Steering Committee carried out a series of 5 formal and over 20 Committee carried informal meetings. We discussed not only topics directly related to the out a series of execution of the project, but specific significant problems in the herb sector. The members of the Steering Committee participated in the creation and 5 dissemination of the matierials and products of the project. They helped formal and over to: organise the trainings and Mobile Information and Consultation Center, create the radio broadcasts and execute the Bulgarian Herb Fair. 20 informal The activities and products of the Project meetings. are meant for: • Local communities • Herb collectors • Farmers • Herb traders, buyers and processors • Local authorities • District administrations • Regional authorities of the Ministry of Environment and Water • Regional authorities of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food • NGOs • Academic and Scientific organisations • Journalists and media • The general public

www.susherbsbg.eu I 3 WE HAVE A HERB FOR EVERY ACHE!

There are countries which possess gold deposits, others have oil reserves. Bulgaria has sufficient stocks of neither gold nor oil, however our land has been blessed with extraordinairy biodiversity, which gives us an abundance of medicinal plants. Experts claim that a quarter of our population could make a living from herbs. This is why we must preserve their natural habitats. They are our medicinal gold! Bulgaria’s gold mines!

The Bulgarian fl ora includes over 4100 species of higher plants (twice 770 the number included in the English fl ora), 770 of them are medicinal. 250 of medicinal plants them are used in tradiƟ onal and convenƟ onal medicine. Around 17 000 tons of dried or frozen herbs are exported from Bulgaria annually. They are sold on the internaƟ onal market for over 25 million euro. We are a leader in herb export volumes in Europe and are among the top 3 exporters in the world. Medicinal plants provide livelihood to local communiƟ es living in close proximity to their habitats. Even today, over 300 000 people rely on the in- come generated through the collecƟ on, culƟ vaƟ on, processing and trade of herbs in Bulgaria.

Herbs are whole plants or parts of them like their fruit, seeds, that are used fresh or dry for the treatment and prevenƟ on of diseases, as well as for the producƟ on of medicine, food, cosmeƟ cs and technical substances.

Medicinal and aromatic are the plants containing healing (biologically active) substances.

4 WHY AN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION PROJECT?

The research and surveys of the opinions of interested par es and the general 85% public, which we conducted during the prepara on of the project proposal (in of those polled 2011) and in the beginning of the execu on of the project (in 2013–14) showed use herbs in their that 85% of those polled have an interest toward herbs and almost all of them daily life use herbs in their daily life. Despite this fact, knowledge about their sustainable use and the livelihood opportuni es they off er was almost nonexistent. Such informa on was absent from the media and our educa onal system and was not even known by the specialists, responsible for the management of herb resources.

Most of the threats medicinal plants face are a consequence of human ac vity. They lead to a reduc on of the exploitable resources of certain species. For this reason some of them become rare and ex nct. Harves ng must be done by trained collectors in accordance with harves ng rules. It is important for the protec on and management of habitats to be conducted in such a way as to allow for medicinal plant renewal and long-term use. This can happen only if those working in the sector are well-informed and trained, and the general public knows, values and par cipates in the protec on of this invaluable treasure – the medicinal gold of Bulgaria.

Most of the herbs, which are bought, traded and processed in the country are collected from the wild. Nature is very generous toward us, but it is not an inexhaus ble resource! Even the most widespread medicinal plant species can quickly decline and even become ex nct if exploited recklessly. There is no country in the world, which can conserve wild plants through control and sanc ons alone! Not even the wealthiest! This can happen only with the help of local people and all stakeholders.

This is why it is necessary to make a focused and consistent eff ort to create reliable sources of popular informa on about medicinal plants, to improve the level of knowledge of everyone working in the sector and to create eff ec- ve collabora on between them. The project made a good start in this direc on by crea ng, dissemina ng and popularising informa on materials for all stakeholders and making them available for use at: www.susherbsbg.eu

www.susherbsbg.eu I 5 OUR GOALS

• Popularising sustainable herb harvesting in Bulgaria. • Creation of a positive mind and skill set for the protection of the rich medicinal plant resources of Bulgaria, including through the establishment of sustainable enterprises.

During the project we created: A database with popular information about medicinal plants Containing print and electronic publications, photographs, video and audio materials about the protection, management, cultivation and processing of medicinal plants. On the project website you can find useful, popular information about: • Medicinal plant species in Bulgaria. Protected and rare species. Threats to medicinal plants. • Protection and use of medicinal plant species in Plovdiv province (2011– 2013) • Medicinal plant cultivation – Suitable regions for the different species – Criteria for choosing species – Technologies for the cultivation of 12 medicinal plant cultivars – Use of medicinal plants for underplanting – Contact information of companies, offering suitable agricultural equipment • Medicinal plant use. General rules for the collection of quality herbs and the protection of plant species and their habitats. • A gallery of medicinal plant photographs.

6 Bulgaria is the The Act was adopted in 2000. According to it, municipal ecology experts, only country in the specialists from regional administra ons and game and forestry units issue European Union, which permits for the collec on of herbs for commercial purposes. For over 15 years has a specialised they had not received specialised training for the execu on of this ac vity, Medicinal Plant Act, which is crucially important for the protec on of wild medicinal plant habitats. because we are the There was also no available literature to help them in the performance of this only ones who collect responsible task. medicinal plants from This is why we created a training programme, a set of training materials the wild in massive and presenta ons and a manual, which we applied during the project and quantities. disseminated througout the country. This is a useful and reliable informa on base, which can aid in the work of experts responsible for the conserva on of medicinal plant habitats and the use of the rich resources they provide.

We trained all 60 experts from municipal administraƟ ons, the district administraƟ on and naƟ onal game and forestry units in Plovdiv, who issue permits for the collecƟ on of herbs, according to the Medicinal Plant Act.

The programme included visits to habitats for a personal acquaintance with the plants. All experts unanimously stated that the training had fi lled-in their knowledge gaps regarding: • Specialised legislature and its applica on • Medicinal plant species – habitats, economic and conserva onal value • Field iden fi ca on guide, photos of the most used species • Methods of resource assessment – how to determine the quan es of herbs, permited for exploita on 1 – Sopot 2 – Stamboliiski • Threats to the habitats and measures for their protec on and the improve- 3 – Perushtica 4 – ment of their condi on • Rules and requirements regarding the collec on of quality herbs with good value • Good prac ces for medicinal plant processing and value addi on • Yield of fresh/dry herbs for the diff erent species • Signs for dis nguishing cul vated herbs from those of wild origin.

www.susherbsbg.eu I 7 The presenta ons, programme and photos from the trainings can be downloaded from the project website.

The informa on and materials used in the training sessions have been organised into an Expert Manual, which was disseminated throughout the whole country and uploaded to the project website. It can be downloaded in Bulgarian here.

We also conducted a sustainable use training for 30 herb buyers and processors from Plovdiv province and the rest of Bulgaria.

The programme included: rules and requirements for the collec on of herbs and the protec on of their habitats; methods for resource assessment with the par cipa on of collectors, buyers and processors and other stakeholders. We discussed the dependence of the good price of herbs on correct collec on prac ces and the quality of the plant material.

The presenta ons and materials from the training can be downloaded in Bulgarian from the project website.

8 INFORMATIVE AND EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS

We created informaƟ ve materials for all project target groups. They can be downloaded in Bulgarian from the project website and used by all interested parƟ es. They are available to anyone who would like to use and reproduce them.

Founda on Informa on and Nature Conserva on would be happy to provide you with fi les suitable for prin ng! Please do not hesitate to contact us!

Poster The poster presents the main rules for the collec on of quality herbs, while simultaneously conserving their habitats. It includes photographs of 10 of the most collected medicinal plants and 6 of the most cul vated ones. There is informa on about the parts of the plant which are to be collected as well as the me of the year when this should be done.

Leafl et This product is meant for herb collectors. It describes the rules for harves ng, according to ordinance 5 of the Medicinal Plant Act. Correct collec on, processing, storage and transporta on are very important for the quality and good value herbs.

www.susherbsbg.eu I 9 Manual for Experts in Charge of Issuing Permits for Herb Collection The goal of the manual is to aid experts in the management of resources by providing all the neccessary informa on they need to carry out their du es: legal framework; most popular species; conserva onally signifi cant species; cul vated species, which require the issuance of a cer fi cate of origin; forms, etc. The opinion survey at the end of the project showed that the Expert Manual and Journalist Handbook are seen as the main and most preferred guides, aiding the work of the two professional groups.

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ˁ̡̨̡̛̻̖̦̬̥̯̖̦̪̬̖̯̔̌̔̏̌̌ͣ̚ʿ̸̨̨̨̨̛̛̛̪̱̣̬̬̦̖̦̱̭̯̜̪̣́̌̌̏̏̚̚ˁ̡̨̡̛̻̖̦̬̥̯̖̦̪̬̖̯̔̌̔̏̌̌ͣ̚ʿ̨̨̛̛̪̱̣̬̬̦̖̦̱̭̯́̌̌̚ ̡̛̛̦̖̦̣̯̖̌̌̍̏ʥ̛̻̣̬̐̌́͟ ̦̌ˇ̶̨̛̦̔̌́ͣʰ̦̦̌ˇ̶̨̛̦̔̌́ͣʰ̴̶̨̨̨̛̛̛̛̛̦̬̥̪̬̬̺̯̌́̔̌̌ͣ̚͟ʫ̡̨ʸ̸̨̛̛̦̐ʶ̴̶̨̨̨̨̛̛̛̛̛̦̭̱̣̯̬̥̪̬̬̺̯̌̌́̔̌̌̚͟ ̶̛̛͟ʫʽʽʪ www.susherbsbg.euwww.susherbsb

ˁ̴̨̛̛̻̦̦̭̬̦̯̌̌ʿ̨̬̬̥̐̌̌>ŝĨĞнʿ̨̬̬̐̌  © ̦̌ʫ̨̡̡̨̛̛̬̪̖̜̭̯̥̭̦̏̌̌́̌ʫ̨̡̡̨̬̪̖̜̭̯̥̏̌̌ ˇ om ̨̦ g.c ̔̌ gyb ̶̛́ olo „ʰ̦ w.ec ̴̨̬̥ ͻ ww ̶̛̌́ ̛ ̨̨̛̛̪̬̬̺̯̔̌̌̚”

Journalist Handbook The Handbook is useful for any journalist working on the topic. It contains popular informa on about the legal framework and responsible ins tu ons, ethnobotany, biologically ac ve substances and a herb calendar. It includes useful addresses and the main messages for Ú̬Þ̬Ô̯Ø̴̴̬̲̩̳̬̯Øæť diff erent target groups. ̱̲Ø̲̰Õ̯̰Ô̴̴̰̫̩̳̪̰ Ú̬ÙØ̱̰̮Ø̯áÙ ̶̯̺ùöñíîì̶ë̼̺ñ̶ïí̻óí

̶̯̺ùöñíî ì̶ë̼̺ñ̶ïí̻óí Ú̬Þ̬Ô̯Ø̴̴̬̲̩̳̬̯Øæť ̱̲Ø̲̰Õ̯̰Ô̴̴̰̫̩̳̪̰ Ú̬ÙØ̱̰̮Ø̯áÙ

© ˁ̡̨̡̛̻̖̦̬̥̯̖̦̪̬̖̯̔̌̔̏̌̌̚ˁ̻

ˇ ̨ ͣʿ̸̨̨̨̨̛̛̛̪̱̣̬̬̦̖̦̱̭̯̜̪̣̦̖́̌̌̏̏̌ͣ̚̚ʿ̨̛̛̪̱̣̬́̚ ̦ ̔ ̡̛̛̦̣̯̖̌̍̏ʥ̛̻̣̬̐̌́͟ ̌ ̶ ̛ ̦̌ˇ̶̨̛̦̔̌́ͣʰ̴̶̨̨̨̛̛̛̛̦̬̥̪̬̬̺̯̦̌́̔̌̌̌̚͟ˇ̶̨̛̦̔̌́ͣʰ̴̦ ́ „ ̛ͣʫ̡̨ʸ̸̨̛̛̦̐ʶ̶̨̛̛̦̭̱̣̯̌͟ʫʽʽʪ̛ͣʫ̡̨ʸ ʰ ̦ ̴ ̨ ǁǁǁ͘ƐƵƐŚĞƌďƐďŐ͘ĞƵǁǁ ̬ ̥ ̶̌ ̛ ́ ˁ̴̨̛̛̻̦̦̭̬̦̯̌̌ ̛ ̪ ʿ̨̬̬̥̐̌̌>ŝĨĞн̦̌ ̛̬ ̨̬ ʫ̨̡̡̨̛̛̬̪̖̜̭̯̥̭̏̌̌́ ̨̔ ̌̚ ̛̺ ̯̌” ͻ w ww. ecolo gybg.com

All materials All materials were disseminated in Plovdiv region and the rest of the country were disseminated with the help of the Ministry of Environment and Water and members of the in Plovdiv region Steering Commi ee. and the rest The South Central State Forestry Enterprise provided the materials to all 35 of of the country. its regional divisions. They represent 22% of the na onal forestry and game units, which issue permits for medicinal plant collec on in the country.

10 BULGARIAN NATIONAL RADIO CAMPAIGN

From November 2013 to March 2016 we produced 197 radio spots, which 197 were broadcast on Horizont Radio Sta on, Radio Plovdiv and Radio Stara radio Zagora and rebroadcast on all other 7 regional radio sta ons of the Bulgarian broadcasts Na onal Radio throughout the country as well as on Radio Sofi a. The broadcasts include the voices of tens of herb buyers and processors, bo- tanists, pharmacists, collectors, farmers and creators of cul vars and propa- ga on material, experts from ins tu ons responsible for medicinal plants and scien fi c ins tutes. They share useful informa on about the correct collec- on, cul va on and processing of over 60 medicinal plant species, which give livelihood to hundreds of thousands of people in Bulgaria. The broadcasts have reached listeners of Horizont Radio Sta on and all regional radio sta ons of the Bulgarian Na onal Radio throughout the country. Over 720 000 people tune into the na onal radio every day and about 1,5 million listeners tune in weekly. The Horizont Radio Sta on is listened to by around 51 000 people at any given moment, and around 600 000 people per day tune into it, which puts it in fi rst place among radio sta ons in Bulgaria. More than 30 reporters, editors and managers from the Bulgarian Na onal Radio were trained and par cipated in the produc on and broadcas ng of the spots.

We created an audio disc with 123 selected broadcasts, organised in the

Ú̬Þ̬Ô̯Ø̴̬Ú̬Þ̬Ô̬Þ̬ÔÔ̯Ô̯Ø̴Ô̯Ø̴̬Ô̯Ø̴̴̬̬̬ ̴̲̩̳̬̯Øæ̴̴̴̴̴̲̩̳̲̩̳̬̲̩̳̬̯̳̬̯̬̬̯̯Ø̯ØæØææ ̯̩ÔáÚ̫̩̲Øæ̯̯̩̯̩̩ÔáÚ̫̫̩̲̫̩̲Ø̫̩̲Øææ Ù̩ÙÕ̩̫Ø̰̱̩×Ø̮ÙÙ̩Ù̩ÙÙ̩ÙÕ̩̩ÙÕ̩̫̫Ø̰̱̩Ø̰̱̩××Ø̮ following topics: Ù̩ÙÕÙ̩ÙÕ̩Ù̩ÙÕ̩̫Ø̱̰Ú×̪̩̮̬̩ÙÕ̩̫̫Ø̱̰Ú×̪̩̮̬? • Calendar of the use of medicinal plants and correct collec on rules

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www.susherbsbg.eu I 11 HERB FAIR

The Bulgarian Herb Fair took place on November 6 and 7, 2015 in the Agricultural University in Plovdiv. The was the culmina on of our campaign for the popularisa on of sustainable medicinal plant use in Bulgaria. The goal of the event was to a ract the support of the Bulgarian public for the protec on and sustainable use of medicinal plants in the country. We disseminated informa on about Bulgarian herbs, through the media and social networks, thereby popularising the work of hundreds of herb collectors as well as that of everyone involved in the sourcing and processing of this invaluable natural resource.

The event included:

• An exhibition titled: „200 Herbs – 2 Million Jobs“ where Bulgarian producers exhibited products from local herbs on their stands, thereby showing that the vision of experts from the sector, that medicinal plants can give livelihood to a quarter of our nation if used wisely and protected in their wild habitats, is a real possibility.

• Consultation sessions for farmers organised in cooperation with the National Agricultural Advisory Service where all interested parties received consultations about the cultivation of medicinal plants from best experts in the field.

• A discussion themed “Partnerships for the intelligent use of medicinal plant resources in Bulgaria” with representatives of all parties, interested in the conservation and sustainable use of Bulgaria’s medicinal plants.

• A “round table” session with the participation of experts from the Ministry of Environment and Water, The Executive Environment Agency, The National Agricultural Advisory Service, The Institutes of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research and Organic Chemistry of the Bulgarian Academy of Science, among others.

• Screenings of the newly premiered film “The Medicinal Gold of Bulgaria” and other films about Bulgarian medicinal plants.

• An exposition of information boards themed “Herbs Are a Source of Life”, created by Plovdiv schoolchildren.

12 The Agricultural University was the most wonderful host for this celebration for all those dedicated to working with medicinal plants. The University offered its hall, equipment and assistance in the welcoming and registration of the participants and visitors to the fair, as well as its overall friendly support and created a festive spirit with the performance of its dance club Trakiyska Mladost (Thracian Youth).

The foyers of the University became “Herb Fields” for two days, one of the auditoriums transformed into “Linden Blossom” Hall and another became “Water Avens” Hall.

More than 500 people visited the stands, watched films in Cinema Hall “Nettle” and most asked when the next Herb Fair would take place!

www.susherbsbg.euwwwwww..sususshheerrbsbsbgbg..eeu I 1313 FILM The Medicinal Gold of Bulgaria

The Medicinal Gold of Bulgaria (a 27 minute fi lm) is a story about how the abundance of valuable medicinal plant species can give livelihood to the popula on of the regions where their habitats are located and help Bulgaria’s economic development. It shows the picture of the herb buying and processing sector in Bulgaria. The fi lm tells the story of the herbs’ journey from the fi eld to the pharmacies and shops, as told by collectors and entrepreneurs working throughout the herb value chain. We tell viewers what the correct way to collect herbs is, what kind of processing they go through and how the benefi cial substances they contain are extracted and used. We give examples of sustainable use and value addi on to herb raw materials. The fi lm presents cul va on of medicinal plants as a main approach toward the conserva on of wild habitats. The documentary premiered at the Bulgarian Herb Fair. Its television premiere was on January 14, 2016 on the Bulgarian Na onal Television. Channel 2 of the BNT broadcast it 4 mes and BNT World – once as part of the project. We signed a contract with the Bulgarian Na onal Television for the fi lm’s repeated broadcas ng in the course of the next 10 years. We off ered the documentary to all television channels with na onwide coverage and regional coverage. It has also been given to the Ministry of Environment and Water and will be used in the informa on centers of its regional structures throughout the country. The fi lm was uploaded to You Tube where it has already been viewed over 1500 mes. Anyone can view The Medicinal Gold of Bulgaria on the project website.

14 MOBILE INFORMATION AND CONSULTATION CENTER

One of the project’s objectives is to increase the interest for cultivation of medicinal plants.

CulƟ vaƟ on is one of the best ways to preserve wild medicinal plants, because: • It eliminates the necessity to resort to wild collec on, especially that of rare and protected species • When large quan es of raw material from a given species are in constant demand the best way to provide them is through cul va on

Together with the Plovdiv Territorial Regional Offi ce of the Na onal Agricultural Advisory Service, the project team carried out open doors for farmers and entrepreneurs interested in the cul va on and processing of medicinal plants in March, 2015 in 6 loca ons in Plovdiv province. There was great interest in the sessions. Interested par es from areas far from the project region – , Kardjali, Sofi a a ended. We received ques ons from Silistran and via email and telephone. 106 stakeholders received consulta ons on the cul va on and processing of medicinal plants.

Farmer open doors were also organised during the Bulgarian Herb Fair in November, 2015. More than 35 farmers received consulta ons and advice. Many of them were from regions where medicinal plant cul va on is not tradi onally prac ced, such as , Vratza, , , .

The visitors received support regarding: • Technologies for the cul va on of lavender, ironwort (Sideri s syriaca), mint, thyme, linden, chamomile, elder, oregano, dog rose, • Quality seed and propaga on material • Sale of produced material and current herb prices • Bulgarian and interna onal markets for herbs and organic products • Financing schemes, business model and business plan crea on methods • E ff ec ve organic cul va on • Herb collec on and primary processing, equipment for storage and drying of herbs in order to preserve their quality

The presenta ons can be downloaded in Bulgarian from the project website.

www.susherbsbg.eu I 15 The information Useful informa on about the cul va on of medicinal plants, techniques and campaign, conducted suitable equipment can also be found on the project website. during the project contributed to the increased interest in medicinal plant cultivation in Plovdiv province, which rose by 42,5%, The area, on which medicinal plants are cultivated in the province grew from 597,76 ha to 785,6 ha

Farmers in the region grow anise, aronia, oregano, valerian, spearmint, lovage, estragon, coriander, chamomile, lavender, thyme, mint, fennel, salvia, savory, dog rose, etc. The Agricultural University has registered a rise in the interest toward the elec- ve subject herbalism. During the academic year 2014/15 the subject was tak- en by 282 students, whereas in 2015/16 360 students signed up for the course. Email and telephone enquiries about the cul va on of medicinal plants con- nue to come in and we answer each one with advice and enclose the contact informa on of qualifi ed experts.

16 MEDIA Website www.susherbsbg.eu

Visits to the project website increase by an average of 41% each quarter. We have had more than 15 800 unique visitors since the date of its crea on to May, 2016. The page is visited by an average of 1000 people monthly, around 25% of whom are returning visitors, and the rest, new visitors. Every user spends an average of 3 minutes on the website. The most popular pages being “Cul va on” and “BNR (Bulgarian Na onal Radio) Campaign”. Specialists working with medicinal plants report, that the website has become their main source of informa on about herbs in Bulgaria!

Media & Online Coverage

Facebook page We also created a Facebook page especially for the radio broadcasts created during the project. It has over 680 likes. Each of its publica ons reaches at least 200 people. The project website has been defi ned by experts as the fi rst online pla orm where reliable, correct, detailed and diverse informa on about me- dicinal plants can be found. This is why it is seen as a main and preferred source of informa on, which they would like to see growing into a bigger pla orm about medicinal plants in Bulgaria.

www.susherbsbg.eu I 17 RESULTS

197 radio broadcasts have been produced and aired on Horizont Radio Sta on, Radio Plovdiv and Radio Stara Zagora and repeated on all other sta ons of the Bulgarian Na onal Radio.

In the course of crea ng and airing the radio spots a group of 30 well- trained and prepared reporters, editors and administrators was created in the Bulgarian Na onal Radio. Their personal responsibility and social engagement regarding medicinal plants has increased and they have started to talk about and recommend medicinal plants to their loved ones, friends and acquaintances. Journalists express their readiness and desire to con nue working on the topic and for the crea on of broadcasts about medicinal plants to become a permanent part of their job a er the end of the project.

Signals about viola ons against and destruc on of medicinal plants on the green hotline of the Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Water have doubled in 2015, in comparison with 2012.

All (60) experts issuing permits for the collec on of herbs in Plovdiv region have been trained.

We disseminated 1000 posters and 5000 leafl ets containing the rules for correct collec on.

We gave out 500 expert manuals, for specialists responsible for medicinal plant resources throughout the whole country who issue collec on permits.

30 herb buyers and processors received materials and gained knowledge about ways to obtain high-quality herbs with good value.

A posi ve mindset for the protec on of medicinal plants has been created among managers and owners of companies, which buy, process and sell herbs and herb products.

The project contributed toward the strengthening of the tendency toward be er conformity with the Medicinal Plant Act on the part of herb buyers and processors. In 2014 and 2015 only two infrac ons per year were established (illegal buying of herbs and buying of unripe rosehips) out of over 20 inspec ons performed by the Regional Inspectorate for Enironment and Water in Plovdiv province.

18 In 2013–2015 the number of farmers cul va ng medicinal plants in the Plovdiv province has risen by 42,5% and the areas planted with medicinal plants grew from 597,76 ha to 785,6 ha.

The interac on between specialised NGOs and the ins tu ons responsible for the protec on and sustainable management of medicinal plants improved.

The communica on between all responsible ins tu ons improved signifi cantly and a be er understanding and evalua on of the du es and responsibilites of each of them was created.

The opinion survey conducted at the end of the project showed that the mindsets of interested par es had been posi vely impacted by the ac vi es carried out during the project. The responsibility for medicinal plant habitats is shared much more readily by those who exploit them. The preserva on of medicinal plant resources in the country has become a cause for everyone reached by the messages of this project.

www.susherbsbg.eu I 19 www.susherbsbg.eu