site.btaProposal Approved to Declare New Protected Area "Rainovska Gora"

An interinstitutional commission has approved a proposal to designate the "Rainovska Gora" area as a protected site, the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water said on Thursday.

The territory, covering 169.96 hectares, is located in the land of the village of Raynovo, Dimitrovgrad Municipality.

The proposal was submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Water by the Maritsa-2008 Community Centre in Raynovo. The area includes forest and agricultural land that is state-owned, as well as land managed by Dimitrovgrad Municipality. According to the Inspectorate, the site has high conservation value, a characteristic landscape and habitats for endangered, rare and vulnerable species.

The area includes valuable natural habitats listed in Bulgaria's Red Data Book, such as Thracian mixed thermophilous oak forests and Thracian downy oak forests. Rare and protected plant species have also been identified under the Biodiversity Act.

The proposed protected area provides habitat for a number of protected animal species, including the lesser spotted eagle, black kite, common cuckoo, Eurasian hoopoe, European roller and green woodpecker. It is also home to species such as the nose-horned viper, Caspian whipsnake, Balkan whip snake, large arrowhead grasshopper, Turkish boa, spur-thighed tortoise, yellow-bellied toad, fire-bellied toad and crested newt, among others.