Speaker
Description
The Bulgarian Black Sea Coast is characterised by specific biological diversity and is an extremely important region for the conservation of biological diversity on the Balkan Peninsula and Europe. Wild medicinal and aromatic plants represent both a vital ecological asset and a valuable Bulgarian export. Despite an established regulatory framework, the unregulated overharvesting of medicinal plants persists, characterised by the collection of prohibited species and quotas exceeding. These practices, compounded by adverse anthropogenic pressures, exert a cumulative negative impact on natural habitats resulting in loss of localities and depletion of stocks, as well as significant long-term economic losses. Consequently, the Bulgarian strategy for the sustainable use of biological resources is based on rigorous assessment and monitoring of the distribution, abundance, and population dynamics of these wild species. Constantly changing demand and market trends for quantities and types of medicinal plants, as well as changing negative anthropogenic factors, requires deploying dynamic models for rapid vulnerability assessment. The aim of the present study is to assess the vulnerability of wild medicinal and aromatic plants and their localities along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast using a Rapid Model for Vulnerability Assessment of Medicinal Plants (RMVAMP). This model utilizes objective criteria and weighted values rather than subjective expert interpretation. It surpasses traditional rapid methods by assessing more factors that directly affect target species. By incorporating these weighted datasets into a GIS framework, natural localities and habitats along the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast were classified and mapped via a colour-coded scale. This spatial analysis effectively identifies high-vulnerable species and areas where medicinal plant harvesting requires stricter regulation.