Background

The idea for the White Rocks project originated in the summer of 2000 when an archeological team, lead by professor Praizinger, made an extraordinary paleontological discovery. The exploration showed that the white rocks near Byala, Varna Region, formed because of a cosmic cataclysm which happened about 65 million years ago, simultaneously with dinosaurs disappearing from earth. The Mayday Foundation and the Mayor of Byala and his team resolved to develop a joint project for promoting tourism in the region, particularly at the beauty spot White Rocks . The town of Byala has available accommodation facilities, which is favorable to the idea for tourism development.

Practice

Mayday Foundation, the Municipality of Byala, and the Tourist Council elected a project team that set down the project goals. The Open Society Club, the Democracy Network Program, and the US Agency for International Development provided financial support to the project.

Short-term goals included:
1. Building and publicising the beauty spot White Rocks Byala;
2. Researching the possibilities for building an international student demonstration center for paleontology and geology.

The long-term goals are:
1. Creation of favorable conditions for development of congress and science tourism as a response to the great interest of scientists throughout the world towards the "White Rocks .
2. Expanding the non-governmental organizations` influence in order to support the sustainable development of the region.

The project included activities in two main directions:
1. Information, advertising, and public relations;
2. Planning for sustainable development.

The following project activities were implemented:
- A competition for logo of the tourist site, won by Deyan Apostolov, Daniel Zheliazkov, and Ivan Zhekov - students at the High School of Mathematics in the city of Varna, who created the White Rocks website www.whiterocks.hit.bg ;
- A non-governmental organization Friends of Byala was established;
- The project team printed and circulated advertisement materials;
- The White Rocks beauty spot was included in the Register and cadastre of the geological phenomena of Bulgaria ;
- The Ministry of Environment and Waters granted approval that the White Rocks be declared a protected territory according to the Protected Territories Law;
- Friends of Byala Association developed a project for building an international student center for geology and paleontology.

Working on the project, non-governmental organizations from Varna and Byala established a partnership, which is a promising precondition for future cooperation, promotion and exploitation of the beauty spot, beyond the end of the project. Friends of Byala Association has gained experience in project implementation. The possibility for establishing the international student center for geology and paleontology has expanded the scope of work of the non-governmental organizations in the region.

Results

The beauty spot White Rocks would attract tourists, and the cosmic cataclysm traces discovered would be of interest to science expeditions outside the active tourist season. Relevant tourist services would be established on the route to the White Rocks . This would increase the income of the local population, create new jobs, and draw investments to the tourism field.

The main factors that will contribute to accomplishment of the long-term goals of the project are:
1. Development and regulation of the use of the White Rocks tourist site;
2. Working out a strategy for sustainable exploitation of the site and development of tourism in the region;
3. Local NGO s potential to develop and manage socially beneficial projects;
4. Creating a business plan for investing part of the income in yearly advertising campaigns.