During the meeting, they talked about the request of the citizens' group submitted to the MOEW in 2023 for the designation of the Boyana Marsh as a habitat of protected species under the Biodiversity Act, as well as an area of significant importance for migratory species. The citizens showed Minister Popov a picture of a screamer, a protected bird species listed in the Red Book of Bulgaria, with the message that he also "screams" in defence of the water body and its designation as the first ecological park on the territory of Sofia.

Lawyer Alexander Kolev, representative of the initiative for the protection of the marsh, reminded that last year the activists stood in front of the bulldozers and prevented its destruction. "We are involved in the lawsuit by which property owners are challenging the designation of the marsh as a water body. Some of the representatives of our civic group are being subjected to fictitious prosecutorial inspections and pressure," Kolev told Minister Popov. Activists defending the Boyana marsh said they are working with the MОEW, the RIEW, and the district municipal administration to find a final solution that will compensate the property owners and give Sofia a new urban park.

The Boyana marsh was declared a water body by the Danube Basin Directorate in August 2023 and is the only remaining natural wetland in Sofia. However, now the former chief architect of the Vitosha district Miroslav Rusev has approved the design and building permit for 5 multi-storey buildings on land where the marsh is located, activists recalled. They assured Minister Popov that for more than three years they have been fighting against attempts to destroy the marsh by some of the owners of the land in which it is located.

According to the civic group for the protection of the Boyana marsh, in a report adopted by the Sofia Municipality it is listed as the only remaining natural wetland on the territory of Sofia, which is the habitat of protected species of water vegetation, amphibians, and reptiles. 118 bird species have been identified and documented in the area. 17 of them are included in the Red Book of Bulgaria, 92 species have protected status under the Biodiversity Act and 50 species have international conservation status.