Following about a year’s delay Bulgaria started declaring the protected areas to enter the European NATURA 2000 ecological network. The procedure has been opened for the constituting of the first area, that of the Suha Reka /meaning Dry River/, in the region of Dobruja plain, Northeastern Bulgaria. It covers some 25 000 hectares on the territory of the districts of Dobrich and Silistra and includes some 30 species of endangered birds whose survival is important to the environmental balance of the Old continent. Three months later than expected, Bulgaria’s government presented to Brussels a list of protected territories, to be included in the all-European network of NATURA 2000. These territories, however, are by half less than those proposed by the scientific community in this country.
The reason is the opposition of influential financial interests related to the intensive construction of tourist facilities in the most attractive nature regions along the Black sea coast and in the mountains.
By the end of October the government should decide on the “excluded” areas. A new delay of the process or a proposal of an environmental network that would not protect to a sufficient degree the biodiversity in Bulgarian lands, might entail serious sanctions on the part of the EC.
According to Environment Minister Cevdet Chakarov, this risk is non-existent. Said he: “I would like to assure the public that I will stand behind the interests of the scientific community on this issue.
We approach the issue with high responsibility and I am optimistic about meeting the commitments and challenges in respect of preserving the biodiversity in our lands.
If not – we will be sanctioned. We all know that 1/3 of the sanctions the EC imposes are in this very sphere. I would like to thank district governors and mayors for their constructive approach and for the fact that there are no longer anti-NATURA stands on a local level. On the contrary the people are interested in how they will be able to receive their remuneration as users of lands falling under the protected territories.”
The procedure for declaring the protected NATURA 2000 network areas envisages for a restrictive regime order on the area to be carried by several national dailies, regional mass media and on the Internet, for starting up a 1-month public discussion on the issue. In the “Suha Reka” zone there are 11 restriction regimes envisaged on the use of lands and forests.
“We have proposed these restrictions considering the fact that the “Suha Reka” area will have to protect bird species,” Nikolai Nedyalkov, Head of NATURA 2000 Department at the Ministry of the Environment explains. “No tilling of the land will be allowed, nor the altering of their use in the case of pastures and meadows. Restrictions on the use of woodlands are also proposed, considering the nesting and habitat of birds and their reproduction periods.”
Hang and paragliding will also be banned in the areas as well as the introduction of different new plant and animal species to the region. A lot of work still has to be done in explaining to local farmers the positive aspects of the inclusion of lands in the NATURA network,” is the opinion of Deputy Environment Minister Yordan Dardov.
“We have to convince the public in the advantages of this project. This information campaign will have to continue on a new and higher level in view of the profits the local people will have. These are the people we have used to refer to as “affected” by the respective restrictions and bans in the protected zones.”
For the first time the public has been acquainted with all possibilities, which the European Funds provide for land owners who make efforts to protect nature and especially for those whose lands fall under the NATURA 2000 network. They have the right to the respective compensations. They vary for the different types of activates on preserving biodiversity. In addition to them farmers or the users of land will be entitled to the respective aids from the European agrarian fund, such as the payment as per land, payment for unfavorable regions, support for the development of rural regions such as the encouragement of rural tourism etc. All that, piling up, could make up quite a considerable sum of money, experts maintain. To illustrate this statement – for compensating lands and woods under the NATURA 2000 network in Bulgaria the sum of 124 million Euros have been envisaged for the period until 2013.”
Written by Maria Dimitrova
Translated by Iva Letnikova