By Claudia Ciobanu
BUCHAREST, Dec 10 2007 (IPS)

When the Bulgarian Parliament adopted the final list of nature sites to be protected, it excluded precisely those areas that are most spectacular, and most interesting for tourism developers.

The decision passed by the Parliament in Sofia Nov. 29 says that 342 sites, representing 33.8 percent of the territory of the country, will be protected under the European Union (EU) programme Natura 2000.

Adopted in 1992, Natura 2000 is meant to safeguard the most seriously threatened habitats and species around Europe.

In theory, the list presented by Bulgaria to the European Commission, the EU executive arm, is one of the most inclusive among all EU member states. But two caveats introduced in the final text reduce the actual area to be protected by roughly a third.

Bulgarian legislators excluded three areas famous for their bio-diversity: the Rila buffer zone and portions of seaside regions Kaliakra and Emine. In addition, zones which are already part of municipal master plans will be left out of Natura 2000. This second provision allows all developers who submitted development plans at the last minute, before the final decision of the parliament, to proceed with construction even in areas that qualify for protection.

“The final decision of the Bulgarian government is a barbaric act against Bulgarian and European natural heritage,” Dr. Stoyan Beshkov, member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences told IPS. “It serves the interests of a limited number of people, who sometimes operate with dirty money. The interest of ordinary people, scientific arguments, sustainable development and international law were not taken into consideration.”

Since January 2007, youth activists, members of environmental NGOs, and scientists have been protesting almost weekly in the centre of Sofia against large-scale tourism development in protected areas. While some of their actions brought together thousands, many of their weekly protests drew just a core of activists, who managed to compensate for their small numbers by creatively using street theatre and colourful costumes.

“We dressed up in pyjamas on one occasion to show that if we are the only ones to see the importance of nature protection, and everyone else is right, then we are definitely crazy and must be allowed to express our insane urges,” said Ani Blagova, one of the protesters, and a former student at Sofia University.

“Another time, we prepared a barricade of cardboard houses and placed it on one of the main boulevards in Sofia. They were supposed to represent the illegal constructions growing every day in Bulgaria’s national parks,” Blagova told IPS.

The day after Parliament adopted the final Natura 2000 list, protesters gathered in the centre of Sofia with huge cotton balls stuffed in their ears, to signify that the government did not listen to the voice of the people.

The Bulgarian government says that in supporting investors in large-scale tourism development, it is promoting the national interest. Protesters dismiss the argument as vague and unconvincing.

Scientific evidence should be given more consideration than economic calculations when it comes to designating Natura 2000 sites, Filka Sekulova from A SEED Europe (Action for Solidarity, Equality, Environment, and Diversity) told IPS.

“There was ample scientific motivation for the inclusion of all sites excluded by the government from the Natura 2000 network,” A SEED said in a press release. “Unfortunately, the Bulgarian Ministry for the Environment puts developers first. The ministry has simply turned into an institution for issuing permits for developers.”

One of the most contentious sites is the Rila buffer zone, hosting a valuable habitat and landscapes, and a part of development plans for the Super Borovets winter mega-resort. Super Borovits is planned as an extension of an existing ski resort in the Rila Mountains, 70 km south of Sofia. It will include 19 ski tracks, 4,000 vacation homes, and several hotels stretching over an area of 100,000 square metres.

Although attractive to foreign investors, Super Borovets will be largely constructed with domestic money. The bulk of it comes from the investors’ consortium Contact 99. The Bulgarian government contributes some of the land and assists with infrastructure development.

The investors expect a profit of 300 million levs (almost 150 million euro) as early as 2009. But dire factors could be at play. In 2004, when plans for the resort were still nascent, businessman Emil Kyulev, the largest investor in the consortium, was killed in the centre of Sofia.

The Bulgarian government is under considerable pressure from financial and, apparently, criminal groups. In these circumstances it is hardly surprising that street protests have had little impact. But the activists now plan to take their case to the European Commission, to say that the Bulgarian government has ignored specific provisions of the Natura 2000 framework.

“The European Commission could refer the case to the European Court of Justice, and this could lead to some sanctions,” Alberto Arroyo Schnell, Natura 2000 coordinator for WWF International (World Wildlife Fund) told IPS. “This is a legal issue,” Schnell said, “but it is also a moral and ethical one. Is the government of Bulgaria forgetting to defend its own national natural treasures?”

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