The first meeting of the cross-border project "ReGreen: Protecting and restoring greenery in forest and urban areas" took place in Haskovo. The municipality is the lead partner in the project, it said.

On Tuesday, October 20, the municipality announced the meeting for Wednesday at 10:00 in the conference hall of the Centralis hotel.

The background: Haskovo to host ReGreen project kick-off meeting on 21 October

Guests included Dimitrios Liatsis, a representative of the Managing Authority, and Zoi Tselia of the programme's Joint Secretariat. The municipalities of Stambolovo and Souflí were represented by their mayors, Adnan Yildiz and Panagiotis Kalakikos.

Haskovo deputy mayor Maria Valcheva welcomed the teams behind the idea. She said the way to a more sustainable and greener region between Greece and Bulgaria lies in the work of all partners, the sharing of knowledge and the active role of young people in protecting biodiversity. "Every new project is a challenge," she said.

Valentin Spendzharov, the project manager for the lead partner, explained the planned work in detail. His presentation covered the main goals, the target groups and the work packages.

The aim is to make green areas in cities and their outskirts more lasting through knowledge, tools and cooperation, using nature-based solutions. To plan, manage and protect biodiversity, the project brings together advanced technology, digital decision-support systems and environmental expertise.

In selected areas, the project will test pilot practices for ecosystems, climate-neutral and digital solutions, and ways to restore greenery.

The project will build a network of environmental experts. It is meant to grow into a community that deals with shared environmental problems. It will also boost knowledge sharing and partnerships in the region.

The municipality says ReGreen builds on Haskovo's policy of making the town cleaner, greener and more welcoming. Haskovo already has projects for cleaner air and for communities that cope better with climate change. In recent years it has also spent money on new parks and on restoring existing ones.