National Governance Approach for Agriculture Land in Natura 2000 Areas. Evidence from Plovdiv District, Bulgaria

摘要

The designation and implementation of Natura 2000 sites faced many challenges across most of the member states in the EC. Some related to consultation and involvement of stakeholders, funding the conservation objectives and providing compensation to land owners, farmers and foresters for restrictions on their land use. The national governments adopted different approaches to address these issues. The aim of the paper is to assess the governance approach for agricultural land in Natura 2000 in Bulgaria with a focus on the contribution of the Natura 2000 compensatory payments. The results suggest that the measure is instrumental in mitigating farmers’ frustration and in providing support to them; although its contribution to the favourable conservation status is still uncertain. Another weakness is the lack of awareness on Natura 2000 location and restrictions as well as on nature-friendly farming practices among farmers.