20 Jul 2007 - Sofia, Bulgaria
– Bulgaria’s parliament has approved an amendment
bill that will save Strandzha Nature Park,
the country’s largest protected area, and
other sites throughout the country.
The protected area status of Strandzha had
been removed by a decision of the Supreme
Administrative Court in June this year because
of loopholes in a ministerial order dating
from 1995. That decision paved the way for
legalizing a holiday resort that has been
built in the nature reserve and provoked a
public outcry and daily demonstrations.
WWF and its partner organizations had been
aware of the loopholes in the protected area
legislation for a long time and have been
pushing the Bulgarian parliament for over
a year to address this problem.
“The amendments to the legislation are a
huge success, the first affirmation by the
Bulgarian government that the country’s greatest
natural treasures are worth holding onto,”
said Vesselina Kavrakova, WWF’s Bulgaria programme
manager.
“I hope this decision sends a strong signal
and marks a precedent for other protected
areas that are still threatened by development,
including Rila and Pirin National Parks as
well as Kamchiiski Pyasatsi.”
Parliament members rejected additional legislation
that would have saved Kamchiiski Pyasatsi
protected area, whose protection was removed
earlier this year to make way for development.
Coastal development
Established in 1995, Strandzha Nature Park
borders the Black Sea and includes unique
vegetation and huge oak and beech forests.
The area contains a number of sites that qualify
for inclusion in the EU’s Natura 2000 network
of specially protected sites as well as Bulgaria’s
oldest nature reserve, Silkosia, established
in 1933.
The court case to remove protection from
Strandzha was launched by the Tsarevo Municipality
(one of the two municipalities where the park
is located) and Krash 2000, which has been
constructing the illegal holiday complex in
the nature park.
In 1995, the municipality was consulted during
the park designation process, and the park
was established with the municipality’s consent.
Today, one of the main municipality's arguments
is that the park’s borders are unclear. The
court concurred, even though the borders of
the park are included on official maps and
documents of the municipality.
Both Strandzha and Kamchiiski Pyasatsi nature
parks are located on the Black Sea coast,
which is currently under huge pressure from
developers. Many municipalities are trying
to secure more areas for construction.
Let nature remain campaign
The situation in Standzha gained national
and international attention as a symbol of
current problems securing effective protection
for many of Bulgaria’s greatest natural treasures.
Over 140 leading Bulgarian intellectuals
have signed a petition to save Strandzha Nature
Park. Some 50,000 signatures in support of
a petition under the name “Let Nature Remain
in Bulgaria” were submitted to various institutions.
A similar WWF campaign attracted 14,000 signatures
from 140 countries around the world.
Konstantin Ivanov, Communications Officer
WWF-DCP/Bulgaria
