WHAT ARE THE THREATS FACING BULGARIAN FORESTS

During the 50’s, the forests in Bulgaria were destroyed en masse. Half a century had to elapse for they to recover, be it partially. At the moment a massive cutting down of entire forests is taking place. Lots of valuable forests in the plains and the foot of the mountains have been destroyed. The fuels and electricity being expensive, the State has been stimulating heating on wood. Hundreds of timber producing private firms have profited from this, which undertook massive cutting down in the forest regions. The cutting down of entire forests leads to an ecological catastrophe.

Trees are a natural filter of the air, and the massive cutting down affects adversely the balance in nature through a number of secondary effects - erosion, landslides, washing away of the surface layer of the soil, drying up, salting, etc. Most of the insect eating and predatory birds nest in the forests, and they get their food from the neighboring cultivated areas. The destruction of their nesting base will increase the risk of massive propagation of rodents and insects. This will in its turn force the farmers to use chemicals in order to protect their crops, and this is expensive and dangerous. The most preserved forests are included in the protected areas and zones, but laws are being breached every day. The cutting down of forests surrounding and fortifying riverbanks is among the main reasons for floods when the level of the rivers goes up.

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Translation from Bulgarian: Tsvetan Ivanov