site.btaBulgarian Embassy in Paris Hosts Green Machine Event

The Green Machine social event, bringing together members of the international conservation community and participants in the World Heritage Site Managers' Forum, took place at the Bulgarian Embassy in Paris on Wednesday evening.

The event was organized by Bulgaria’s Tourism Ministry as part of the 47th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.

"The World Heritage Convention is one of the most successful international agreements for the conservation and protection of the most valuable and significant cultural and natural sites. However, this Convention needs a community, informal cooperation networks such as the Green Machine community, which serve as a source of ideas, solutions and joint initiatives," Bulgaria's Ambassador to France, Radka Balabanova-Ruleva said.

Since its founding 35 years ago, the Green Machine community has grown in step with the global movement to protect natural heritage, she added.

In her words, today’s global challenges - climate change, conflicts and pressure on natural resources – threaten what is irreplaceable: the surrounding nature.

Deputy Minister of Environment and Water Atanas Kostadinov said that it all started in Berlin in 1990 when a small group of natural heritage experts participated in the work of the Committee. That was when the idea of a space for conservationists to meet informally and build a community was born. He pointed out that one of the founders, Mechtild Rossler, was present at the event.

Kostadinov said that the reports of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity clearly show that “we are facing unprecedented rates of biodiversity loss.” He highlighted the crucial role of “experts, activists, representatives of institutions and organizations who dedicate their knowledge, energy, and passion to preserving the Earth's irreplaceable natural heritage.” “In this context the role of the Green Machine is more relevant than ever. This community is much more than a gathering - it is a network of trust, a creative space, a driver of collaborative solutions and action. It connects institutions and people in a unique way, fostering initiatives that lead to real change, contributing to the conservation of protected areas, precious species, habitats, landscapes, involving local communities around the world," he said.

In his words, Bulgaria is home to valuable World Heritage sites – from the breathtaking peaks, lakes and glacial forms of the Pirin Mountains to the bird-rich Srebarna Lake and the ancient beech forests of the Central Balkan National Park. He noted that the latter is part of the transnational serial site “Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe” which Kostadinov described as “yet another example of good cooperation between various countries, institutions and communities  for the protection of unique natural heritage.”

The event was attended by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre Director Lazare Eloundou Assomo, World Heritage Leadership Programme Manager Eugene Jo, Tim Badman, Director of the World Heritage Programme at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and former World Heritage Centre director Mechtild Rossler.

Among the guests were Bulgaria’s Culture Minister Marian Bachev, Deputy Culture Minister Todor Chobanov, the chairperson of the 47th Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee Prof. Nikolay Nenov, Bulgarian News Agency Director General Kiril Valchev, Iskra Angelova, Bulgaria's deputy permanent representative to UNESCO, the Managing Director of the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Paris Desislava Bineva, the Director of the National Service for Nature Protection in the Environment and Water Ministry, Miroslav Kalugerov.

The 47th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee opened on Monday and will run until July 16 at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris. As part of the session, Bulgaria will present elements of its cultural and natural heritage. During this year’s session, the Committee will consider proposals for 30 new sites to be inscribed and the extension of two already on the list, as well as review the state of conservation for 248 existing World Heritage Sites.

UNESCO was founded on November 16, 1945. Bulgaria became a member on May 17, 1956, the same year its National Commission for UNESCO was established. The Commission coordinates activities between Bulgarian institutions and UNESCO.

UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee is one of the two governing bodies responsible for implementing the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. It is composed of representatives from 21 countries elected from among the 196 States Parties to the Convention.