Jubilee commemorative coin of high public and world importance, promoting the huge bird wealth of Bulgaria will be issued by the Bulgarian National Bank on the occasion of World Wetlands Day 2022. The silver coin, depicting a Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus), will have a face value of BGN 10 and a one-time weight of 23.33 g.
The issue was initiated by the Via Pontica Foundation with the support of the Municipality of Burgas and is based on the fact that most of the feathered diversity of Bulgaria is found near the Burgas Lake Complex, which includes the largest Bulgarian lake Vaya. The main stop on the Via Pontica – an ancient Roman road, coinciding with the invisible celestial highway of birds migrating from Europe to Africa, it can be called “Eldorado” of waterfowl, many of which are rare in Bulgaria, Europe and 9 of them for the world.
The commitment of the Via Pontica Foundation to biodiversity and conservation of the planet has been shared with many governmental and non-governmental organizations and is highly appreciated not only in Bulgaria but also worldwide, as the Via Pontica Foundation was appointed NGO Coordinator of CEPA of the Ramsar Convention for 2018-2020.
Together with one of the most active municipalities in the field of environmental protection in Bulgaria, given as an example of active work and good administrative capacity – Burgas Municipality, Via Pontica Foundation successfully implements national and international projects in the field of environmental protection and sustainable use of natural resources.