Green Balkans Association took part in an international seminar organized within the LIFE Sallina project, with over 150 participants. The meeting took place in the French town of La Baule, adjacent to the famous saltworks of Guérande, on the French Atlantic coast. The salt pans of Gerand are known for their thousand-year history, dating back to the Iron Age. The method of extracting and collecting the salt has not changed over time, similar to the salt pans in Pomorie Lake in Bulgaria.

Among the results presented from the activities of LIFE Sallina project were the construction of over 160 artificial islets in the salt pans for nesting of birds, as a result of which the number of nesting pairs of Avosets there has doubled and today numbers about 1000 pairs. All this has happened with the unreserved support of the salt workers and owners of salt pans, as they build most of the islets themselves.

The Green Balkans’ team presented the results of its long-term nature conservation activity on Pomorie Lake for the protection of the salt lagoon, its habitats and species. The participants were introduced to the activities and results of the LIFE for Pomorie Lagoon project. Special attention was paid to the problems accompanying the implementation of the project and the protection of the lagoon in general - the lack of cooperation of the state institutions, as well as the lack of interest of the private sector. All of this poses a serious threat to the future of the lagoon, its inhabitants, and also to salt production in the region.

It is strongly recommended the Bulgarian institutions and salt producers to familiarize themselves with the experience of their French colleagues. The cooperation between state institutions, as well as between institutions and the private sector (owners of saltworks) in France is at a very high level. In the framework of LIFE Sallina project, more than 250 agreements with owners of salt pans have been made, which testifies to the established partnership and cooperation between the different sectors in the country - state institutions, environmental protection organizations and the private sector.