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A subterranean
tunnel, under construction on the Greek-Bulgarian border,
promises to protect mating Brown Bears (Ursus arctos)
on both sides of the Rhodope range. The project, estimated
at $7 million, is co-funded by the Ministry
of Environment and the EU, which shoulders the Bulgarian
150-metre stretch of the work within the framework of the PHARE programme.
The tunnel is part of a road linking the Greek province of
Drama with the Bulgarian town of Goce-Delcev and running off
the Via Egnatia national
road. Arcturos,
a non-governmental organisation for the protection of bears
and wolves, campaigned for the adoption of an eco-friendly
project, which would ensure the future of the brown
bear population. The southern Balkan region is one
of its last enclaves in Europe. The initial plan would have
slashed the bear's habitat in two, cutting off the population
on either side of the Greek-Bulgarian border.
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