West Stara Planina Activities West Stara Planina Forum 4+4 Municipalities meeting - Vurshetz, Bulgaria, July 2002 The purpose of this meeting was to gather representatives of interested stakeholders and to present, discuss and evaluate: Preliminary results of the socio-economic analysis; Terms of references for other planned analyses (water resources, forest practices, biodiversity, and priority habitats and species); and Further activities of the project. One of the outcomes of the meeting was designing the framework for establishing an advisory body that will follow the project implementation and assure that the project is adapted to the local conditions. The meeting was also used to present good practices in Bulgaria in the sphere of environmental protection and environmentally friendly tourism. Forum meeting - Pirot, October 22-23, 2004 Three roundtables (one on agriculture, one on ecotourism and one for mayors) were organised as part of the third 'Old mountain – new bridges' festival. This was the first opportunity for newly elected mayors to meet each other. Transboundary cooperation in the spheres of tourism and agriculture was discussed, and an agreement was reached on future joint activities. The forum was also a platform for presenting and discussing the opportunities for designating a transboundary biosphere reserve with the participation of the “Man and Biosphere” national committee representatives from Bulgaria and Serbia. The conclusions from the roundtables are available upon request from the project team. West Stara Planina Forum and Letter of Intent, 2005 Transboundary forums aim at coordinating efforts of stakeholders in border municipalities in the region and support the planning of future transboundary cooperation. In 2005 two such forums were organised, one in Berkovitza the other in Knjazevac. The meetings, which were attended by all the mayors of the region, resulted in the signing of a Letter of Intent for transboundary cooperation toward sustainable development. The document reflects results from previous forum meetings in which participants agreed on the main areas of cooperation, namely the management of natural resources and environmentally friendly tourism, agriculture, culture and infrastructure. 11 Mayors sign the letter of intent for transboundary cooperation The Letter of Intent was developed by the relevant ministries of Bulgaria and Serbia and Montenegro. During the last forum meeting in Knjazevac in July, the letter was signed by mayors of 11 border municipalities. A transboundary association of municipalities was founded and is now in the process of registration. In this framework, working groups on tourism, agriculture, culture and infrastructure have been established, with one mayor acting as a focal point and meeting host for each working group.

Introduction Activities: Studies Capacity Building People to People West Stara Planina Forum Education Ecotourism Agriculture LEAP Local Initiatives Programme Photo gallery   Other sites: Neretva Delta Skadar Lake