In the period 25-27 May we held a trip and a meeting to exchange experiences with colleagues from the Po Delta Park in Emilia Romagna, Italy. There, the team of the Life for the Pomorie Lagoon project from the Green Balkans and the BBF met with the experts of the LIFE TRANSFER project, which is being implemented in Italy, Spain and Greece. The activities of the two projects were discussed, which are similar in that they aim to preserve the priority type of natural habitat - 1150 Coastal Lagoons - albeit in different ways. While in the project LIFE for Pomorie Lagoon the activities are aimed at restoring the hydrological regime of the lagoon and improving the nesting conditions of typical bird species, the LIFE TRANSFER project restores habitat macrophytes such as beaked tasselweed and seagrass.
The main features of Pomorie Lake, its conservation significance, the salt pans at the northern part of the lake, their history, condition and prospects, as well as the main activities of the LIFE for Pomorie Lagoon project were presented at the meeting in the Park office. The Bulgarian experts got acquainted with the activities of the LIFE TRANSFER project, presented by Graziano Caramori, details were explained and experience and know-how were exchanged regarding the implemented activities.
A visit was made to key areas in Italy where the project activities are being implemented - the individual basins of the lagoon of Comacchio in the Po delta. The second day was dedicated to the Salt Pans of Cervia - part of the park and one of the most popular places to visit in the region. During the tour of the salt pans in Cervia we had the opportunity to talk to the head of the activities there, who took our experts on a tour in the Complex and presented the methods and techniques of work, as well as tourist and commercial prospects. In the afternoon we had the opportunity to see a mixed colony of Sandwich, Common and Little terns, Slender-billed and Mediterranean gulls, which nests on an artificial island near the port of Ravenna. It was noteworthy that despite the high vegetation that grows on the island, the colony makes excellent use of the island's habitat. The main problem was the growing population of Yellow-legged gulls, as well as the steep shores of the island, which are dangerous for the juveniles of terns and gulls.
