Integrating Crisis Management Mechanisms In European Cohesion Policy

The series of challenges facing modern society posed by the consequences of the global economic crisis, the debt crisis in Europe, the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, etc. inevitably determine the relevance of research in the field of crises and the mechanisms for dealing with them. The aim of this publication is to examine the effectiveness of the introduced crisis management toolkits within the EU. The research methods used are limited to the study of scientific knowledge on the relevant issue, critical analysis and expert evaluation of the adopted approach to recovery by the Community. As a result of the conducted research, the tools that the EU applies to deal with the negative consequences of Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine have been clarified. Priority areas for impact are identified depending on the applied mechanisms and new horizons for development are defined. In this context, the role of integrated territorial investments (ITI) in this process is also considered

Cultural ecosystem services for development of nature-based tourism in Bulgaria

The rich and diverse Natural Heritage of Bulgaria is a prerequisite for the development of nature- based tourism (NBT) of a new type. The research is carried out by the implementation of the ecosystem approach. The results include an assessment of the natural heritage capacity to provide goods and services for the development of NBT in the Tourist Regions (TR) of Bulgaria. The results show the spatial distribution of the natural heritage sites in all nine TR in Bulgaria and their natural capacity for development of different types of NBT. There are only 37 municipalities out of 265 with not a one Natural Heritage (NH) site, and all the rest have natural resources to develop NBT. The results can be of use for the achievement of the goals for sustainable tourism by assessment of the capacity to provide recreation ecosystem services (RES)

A methodological framework for mapping and assessment of ecosystem services provided by the natural heritage in Bulgaria

Natural heritage (NH) includes natural features that can be described as outstanding universal value at a national level. It refers to the importance of ecosystems, biodiversity, and geodiversity for their existence value, and the ecosystems can be considered as the spatial units for its mapping and assessment. The ecosystem services (ES) concept provides an appropriate basis in the form of assessment and mapping methods that enable linking the state of ecosystems with human well-being. Thus, it can be used as a platform to find solutions to the problems related to the conflicts between conservation and the use of the NH. In this paper, we aim to present the process of developing a methodological framework for mapping and assessment of ecosystem services provided by the natural heritage in Bulgaria for recreation and tourism. The conceptual framework of the ecosystem-based assessment of NH in Bulgaria is based on the assumption that the generation of NH for the needs of tourism can be presented as the linkages between the natural systems and tourism in the form of ES potential, flow, and demand. The results demonstrate that the NH can be presented as a spatial phenomenon conceptualized by the flows of benefits from ecosystems to people which contribute to human well-being. The mapping and assessment procedures are fully developed for application at a national level, while for the regional and local level, few pilot studies mark some basic foundations for further development

Balkan Vegetation Database: historical background, current status and future perspectives

The Balkan Vegetation Database (BVD; GIVD ID: EU-00-019; http://www.givd.info/ID/EU-00- 019) is a regional database that consists of phytosociological relevés from different vegetation types from six countries on the Balkan Peninsula (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia). Currently, it contains 9,580 relevés, and most of them (78%) are geo-referenced. The database includes digitized relevés from the literature (79%) and unpublished data (21%). Herein we present descriptive statistics about attributive relevé information. We developed rules that regulate governance of the database, data provision, types of data availability regimes, data requests and terms of use, authorships and relationships with other databases. The database offers an extensive overview about studies on the local, regional and SE European levels including information about flora, vegetation and habitats

Balkan Vegetation Database (BVD) – updated information and current status

The Balkan Vegetation Database (BVD; GIVD ID: EU-00-019) is a regional database, which was established in 2014. It comprises phytosociological relevés covering various vegetation types from nine countries of the Balkan Peninsula (Albania – 153 relevés, Bosnia and Herzegovina – 1715, Bulgaria – 12,282, Greece – 465, Croatia – 69, Kosovo – 493, Montenegro – 440, North Macedonia – 13 and Serbia – 2677). Currently, it contains 18,306 relevés (compared to 9.580 in 2016), and most of them (82.8%) are geo-referenced. The database includes both digitized relevés from the literature (65.6%) and unpublished data (34.5%). Plot size is available for 84.7% of all relevés. During the last four years some “header data information” was improved e.g. elevation (now available for 83.4% of all relevés), aspect (67.7%), slope (66%), total cover of vegetation (54.3%), cover of tree, shrub, herb, bryophyte and lichen layers (27.1%, 20.1%, 40.2%, 11.5% and 2.1%), respectively. Data access is either semi-restricted (65.6%) or restricted (34.4%). Most relevés (84.6%) are classified to syntaxa of different levels. The database has been used for numerous studies with various objectives from floristic, vegetation and habitat-related topics, to macroecological studies at the local, regional, national, continental and global levels. During the last four years, BVD data were requested from 111 different projects via the EVA and sPlot databases

Long-term safety and efficacy of benralizumab in patients with severe, uncontrolled asthma: 1-year results from the BORA phase 3 extension trial

International audienc