Bulgarian National Park in Danger
Join the campaign to prevent the national park becoming a commerical enterprise.
12.07.2006 |Sascha Gabizon
Pirin National Park, Bulgaria. And now in danger.
Please, send this appeal to support Bulgarian NGOs against turning a highland national park (in the UNESCO list) into commercial touristic site!!!!
Copy the APPEAL and send it to the Email adresses listed below.
It is still a magically beautiful mountain! Let is stay that way for our children and grandchildren to enjoy its wild beauty!
To:
World Heritage Center, UNESCO
E-mail: wh-info@unesco.org
To:
Bern Convention Secretariat
Eladio Fernandez-Galiano
E- mail: eladio.fernandez-galiano@coe.int
Veronique de Cussac
E-mail: veronique.decussac@coe.int
To:
Environment Directorate-General European Commission
Ladislav Miko
ladislav.miko@ec.europa.eu
Nicholas Hanley
Nicholas.HANLEY@cec.eu.int
Jorge Antunes
Jorge.ANTUNES@cec.eu.int
Andras Demeter
Andras.DEMETER@cec.eu.int
Cc:
The Environment Commission at the Bulgarian Parliament
E-mail: env422@nt52.parliament.bg
Cc:
The Minister of Environment and Waters in Bulgaria
E-mail: mivanova@moew.government.bg
Pirin National Park in Bulgaria
APPEAL
Dear Madams / Sirs ,
According a report on Bansko Ski Zone negative environmental and social impacts, prepared by the Bulgarian Save Pirin Bulgarian NGO Coalition(1), the National Park of Pirin is being seriously threatened by the expansion and construction of ski resorts and related facilities near the settlements of Bansko and Dobrinishte.
Conclusions and recommendations for UNESCO
We do not agree with the proposal of the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Waters for exclusion of Bansko and Dobrinishte Ski Zones from the World Heritage Site. The physical and actual boundaries of the Bansko Ski Zone are 2,5 times beyond the officially allowed and registered. Thus even i f the at its 30th session UNESCO excludes the two zones from the World Heritage Site, the ski zones will in reality still be reaching into the Site. If the expansion and merging of the two ski zones takes place as planned, UNESCO will have to exclude the entire national park from its World Heritage lists.
We recommend insist the inclusion of Pirin National Park, and its entire area, in the list of World Heritage Sites in Danger. P lacing Pirin National Park in the list of the World Heritage Sites in Danger would necessitate stricter compliance with UNESCO regulations on the side of the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Waters. That would provide UNESCO and civil society and academia in Bulgaria with stronger tools to prevent the further deterioration of the National Park.
According to the aforementioned report, in the period during the Bansko Ski Zone construction, actions that contradict the Pirin National Park conservation statute took place in the World Heritage Site. That violated art. 4 of the World Heritage Convention and the recommendations of the Report of the IUCN/UNESCO Mission to Pirin National Park from February 2002.
We urge you to carefully consider the demonstrated thus far capacity and willingness of the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Waters to protect the World Heritage Site and take the best decision for the conservation of the National Park of Pirin.
In that respect we would also like to inform you that the preparation of NATURA 2000 sites documentation and the inclusion of the National Park in the NATURA network is currently in process.
Conclusions and recommendations for the European Parliament, DG Environment and the Bern Convention
Considering Bulgaria's pre-accession to the European Union, the Bern Convention, DG Environment and EU institutions are currently in the unique position to demand accountability, transparency and good governance from the Bulgarian state, especially in terms of environmental management. Thus, we recommend that:
Special attention is paid to the implementation of environmental legislation and the access to court justice in Bulgaria, especially in regard to problematic environmental cases such as the Bansko Ski Zone approval and construction.
The Bulgarian government must demonstrate real efforts in the implementation of internal and international environmental legislation and therefore pay due attention to the recommendations and demands of the civil society analysis above.
I look forward to receive your response.
Diana Iskreva-Idigo
Executive Director
NGO Earth Forever, Bulgaria
Representative for CEE and NIS
Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council, WHO, Geneva
Tel.: +359 42 634641
Mobile: +359 897 801179
E-mail: diskreva@earthforever.org
NGO Earth Forever
Kiril i Methody, 77a, apt. 27
6000 Stara Zagora
Bulgaria
Tel./Fax: +359 42 634641
Mobile: + 359 897 801179
www.earthforever.org
