SMURF project - the forest owners' project is a 48-month project under the Horizon programme, which will try to shape the future of small forest holdings in Europe, with strong participation of representatives of the sector.The implementation of sub-activity 3.2.3 requires the publication of a report or interview in a national or regional media. On this occasion, the National Association of Owners of Private Forests "Gorovladeletz" contacted the regional office of BTA in Smolyan.The Bulgarian Telegraph Agency is a national independent information institute of the Republic of Bulgaria, it independently determines in accordance with the interests of society and the state, in accordance with the Constitution, the content of its information activities.The interview reflected the participation of the Association “Gorovladeletz in the SMURF project and its activities.National Association of Owners of Private Forests "Gorovladeletz" is the only beneficiary of the SMURF project in Bulgaria. The project includes 35 associations representing private forest owners from 16 EU countries. It is characteristic that it is mainly aimed at small owners managing less than 500 ha. of forests. The creation of an interconnected network between associations of forest owners in Europe will help to exchange experience, ideas and good practices.Part of the project activities are the preparation of 15 studies of small forest enterprises. They presented different types of forests from different regions of the country and different management models - individual owners, individual families and small cooperatives. It was noted that the cooperatives in the Rhodope Mountains are unique in terms of ownership, since all owners in them own property in ideal parts, and not in real ones. The studies of individual forest owners show that a large part of the private forests are at risk of abandonment. In most of them there is activity less than once every 10 years.The interview also draws attention to the participation of the National Association of Owners of Private Forests "Gorovladeletz" in the First European Conference of Forest Owners' Organizations. It was held in Rome from 20 to 22 May 2025 at the FAO headquarters at the UN.You can find the entire interview at the following link:https://www.bta.bg/…/970464-rhodope-forest-cooperatives-to…AsSMURF project website https://www.smurfproject.eu/.Funded by EU #smurfproject #SmallForestHoldings #forestry #forestowners #profitability #smallforestowners #foresteufuture #forestmanagement #sustainability #forestnews #cascadefunding #closetonaturesilviculture
