Rusenski Lom (Bulgaria)
High Nature Value farmland: Case study report

The Rusenski Lom Natural Park protects the shallow limestone canyons of the three Lom rivers and their associated caves, forests and grasslands. The Park is just south of the Danube in the northern Bulgarian lowlands, near the city of Ruse. The HNV area extends to about 10000 ha, but of this only just over 3400 ha is covered by the Natural Park designation. Within the Park itself, four fifths of the area is classed as forest.
By contrast, within the three municipalities which make up the area, over 90% of the land is large scale intensive cropland. The HNV farmland, though significant, is found in a thin strip between the arable and the forest and in small patches within the forest, especially on the valley bottoms.
The main issue arising here was the mismatch between policy and reality in a number of areas. The use of forest land by farmers; the importance (or not) of farmers for the maintenance of areas within the Park; the legal status of small farmers (and especially small-scale goat herders) and the allocation of communal grazing land between producers were all examples where policy seemed not to be interacting with the realties on the ground, but where such interaction would seem to be essential for the survival and maintenance of the HNV farmland.
Some key messages:
- Policy must build on the reality on the ground, not ignore it
- Sharing of responsibilities between various Government departments must not be allowed to hamper efficient and cross-cutting policy making or policy delivery
- The small livestock farmer must be fully integrated into the delivery of policy and of state assistance
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Workshop agenda
Workshop presentations
- High Nature Value farming concept: What does it mean? What is it for? How can it be used? Guy Beaufoy, expert, EFNCP (.ppt, 13.068 KB)
- Sanitary-hygiene requirements in the field of milk and dairy production Dr. Sabina Jotkova, veterinary/farmer, Tsar Kaloian (.ppt, 1.664 KB)
- High Nature Value farmland in Rusenski Lom Koen De Rijck, expert, WWF-DCP (.ppt, 4.223 KB)
- Opportunities for financing measures for sustainable management of the pastures and meadows in Bulgaria (.ppt, 5.394 KB)
- State of plant-growing in the three municipalities of Rusenski Lom Territoy Emilia Christova, agricultural administrator, municipality Ivanovo (.ppt, 617 KB)
- Development of stock-breeding in the three municipalities of Rusenski Lom territory Shukrie Kervan, agricultural administrator, municipality Tsar Kaloyan (.ppt, 175 KB)
- High Nature Value farming concept – international agreements Yulia Grigorova, expert, WWF-DCP (.ppt, 1.753 KB)