Bulgaria in 2010 – year of biodiversity



The year 2010, pronounced world year of biodiversity, brought some good news on the future of Bulgarian flora and fauna after a decade of hard nature protection battles. However, environmentalists say that protected biodiversity for the past year or two is due rather to the financial crisis than to the efforts of Bulgarian governments.

“We can say that the Year of Biodiversity was a bit better for the Bulgarian environment, compared to the previous ones – Mr. Stefan Avramov from the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation told Radio Bulgaria. – This was related mainly to the global economic crisis and the collapse of hotel construction pyramids thus protecting the mountains and a part of the sea coast from total destruction. However, there were certain changes in state policy too. Fortunately, the new government is a bit more willing to listen to the citizens’ arguments in favour of nature protection.”

The progress in the area of adoption of management plans for the Bulgarian natural parks has been good news for 2010. It is a question of regulation of the activities, taking place in the country’s mountains. Most of those have the status of natural parks. An exception are only the three National parks – Rila, Pirin and the Central Balkan Range, which have an even higher level of protection and have had their management plans implemented for years now. The forthcoming adoption of the management plan for the Strandzha Natural Park is good news too, since the hardest struggles have taken place there between environmentalists and real estate entrepreneurs, supported by municipal authorities.

“The municipality of Tzarevo really intended to built up hotel apartments along the coastline and to sell those afterwards. The idea was quick profits to be made on the part of a construction pyramid, built on the last wild parts of the Strandzha coastline. Of course, the community was scandalized and it is the ensuing protests that caused the change of state policy towards Bulgarian nature.”

A certain progress was marked in relation to preventing the chaotic construction of wind generators, solar installations and small water power plants, especially within the zones of the Natura 2000 European eco network.

“The construction of new mini water power plants without an in-depth analysis of their impact on the environment was banned with an amendment in the Waters Act – Mr. Avramov explains. – However, licenses for hundreds of water power plants were issued during the ruling of the previous two governments. When you travel across the Rhodope Mountains for instance, you can but wondering why a river flows then suddenly disappears in the tubes of a mini WPP only to reappear further down. The ecosystems there have been totally disturbed and fish is simply gone at many places.”

The forthcoming Forest Protection Act is good news too. It underwent some serious changes under the pressure of environmentalists and will guarantee the future of Bulgarian forests.

Mr. Avramov also underlined that public opinion was the most powerful ally of environmentalists in this country. And so is the fact that being a EU member-state Bulgaria will be compelled to comply better to its ecological legislation.