http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/[ ... ]90313-8xsk.html
14.3.2009, Sydney Morning Herald:
The Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, set aside his briefs for an evening on Thursday and shrieked out - largely unrehearsed - a goodly selection of his old hits at the National Convention Centre in Canberra.
If only we had such ministers here in Bulgaria...
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ENVIRONMENT: Bulgaria Going Down a Slippery Slope
By Claudia Ciobanu
BUCHAREST, Mar 3 (IPS) - The World Ski Cup for women last weekend was
organised in Bulgaria at a ski resort whose development is partially
illegal, and which is damaging a world heritage site.
A report published by the Save Pirin Coalition and endorsed by several
environmental organisations in Bulgaria claims that the development of the
Bansko Ski Zone has severely damaged the Pirin National Park, one of the
two United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
(UNESCO) world heritage sites located in Bulgaria. Bansko is a recently
expanded and modernised ski resort in south-western Bulgaria, 160 km from
capital Sofia in the Pirin mountains.
Measurements made by experts from Save Pirin, and information provided by
the management of the Pirin Park show that construction has been carried
out on 247 hectares of land instead of the 99 hectares for which the
developers received authorisation from the Bulgarian Ministry of
Environment and Water in 2001. Furthermore, Save Pirin claims that
environmental impact assessment agreements have been breached.
The authors of the report argue that around 1,000 hectares have been
modified for construction of ski slopes and associated transport and
living infrastructure. Intense excavation and massive deforestation have
led to the washing away of soil layers and the emergence of huge crevices.
Natural habitat has been fragmented, and species like the brown bear have
been driven from their usual locations.
Asked whether they had looked into environmentalists" claims of
illegalities when choosing Bansko as a location for the world cup,
International Ski Federation (FIS) representative Riika Rakic told IPS
that "the FIS helped the Bulgarian Ski Association and the local
organisers at the resort engage an environmental advisor to assess the
situation and develop long-term strategies in this area."
Suspicions of past illegalities did not affect the choice of location
because "FIS relies on its members to ensure that they respect and comply
with all national regulations and legislations in all their activities."
The development has been controversial for some time. The European Bank
for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was earlier an investor in
Bansko; it owned a share in the Bulgarian First Investment Bank, the
institution which coordinated all investments in Bansko. But after
complaints from environmentalists and from UNESCO, EBRD sold its share in
the First Investment Bank in December 2006.
The Bulgarian Ski Association, the FIS partner in charge of the Bansko
event, is run by Tseko Minev, who is also the main shareholder in the
Bulgarian First Investment Bank.
Minev, who was in 2007 the third richest man in Bulgaria, has repeatedly
expressed support for development of another ski resort in the Vitosha
National Park, close to capital Sofia. Bulgaria hopes to organise the
Winter Olympics in the next decade, and Vitosha would be needed to
complement the facilities in Bansko.
Development of the Vitosha Ski resort has been marred by controversy from
the outset. "The Vitosha Ski Company is 90 percent owned by an offshore
company, Elora Management Ltd, registered on the British Virgin Islands,
and one of the serious problems is that it is completely unclear who is
behind the company and what is the source of the money," Katerina Rakovska
from the World Wildlife Fund Danube Carpathian Programme (WWFDCP) told
IPS. "As we all know, lack of transparency is the mother of corruption."
As the skiers in the Friday race were sliding down the slopes of Bansko,
the centre of Sofia was filling up with people protesting the decision to
fire three directors of national parks (Vitosha, Strandja and Vrachanski
Balkan). On Friday morning, Bulgarian media had quoted an opposition claim
that the directors would be fired soon because of their resistance to
construction in the parks.
Many Bulgarians were excited over the skiing event, in the categories of
downhill and Super G (super-giant) in the 2009 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup;
the country has not been on the world ski cups schedule since 1984. The
organisation of the cup was indication that the country is able to offer
up to standard tourism and sports facilities.
Tourism has traditionally played a major role in Bulgarian development.
Before 1989, the Black Sea coast was a popular destination for summer
tourists from countries east of the Berlin Wall, gaining it the nickname
"the Red Riviera". Post-socialist governments have continued to focus on
tourism infrastructure development, both on the coast and in the
mountains. With prices still low for Western tourists, Bulgaria was able
to attract close to two million foreign visitors in just the first half of
2008 (Bulgaria"s own population is seven million).
The cash inflows from the tourism industry are certainly welcome for
Bulgaria, the poorest country in the European Union. Bulgarians themselves
enjoy the new opportunities for sports and entertainment, although prices
in resorts like Bansko are too high for many.
The Bulgarian Ski Federation is currently training 3,000 Bulgarian
children free of charge, in an attempt to popularise the sport and breed
future champions. No Bulgarian woman has yet won a World Cup event.
But Bulgarian environmentalists are now worried by the environmental cost
of these plans. Far from trying to contain the damage, they fear
developers in Bansko will continue to expand their reach inside the
National Parks. (END/2009)
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February 25th – Sofia. The FIS World Cup Ladies’ starting in two days in
Bulgaria will take place in a resort developed in violation of many
Bulgarian and European environmental acts, local environmental
organizations report. Bansko ski resort, which will host the races between
February 27th and March 1st is built in Pirin National Park and UNESCO
site.
774 visits
View the website
Holiday homes, hotels, villas, ski resorts and ski runs are being built in many of Bulgaria"s national and nature parks. They are being built illegally, against existing national laws and regulations.
We need to send a clear message:
* To those destroying Bulgaria"s natural treasures: that this is not acceptable
* To relevant authorities: to implement existing laws and regulations
* To political decision makers: to take necessary steps to ensure real protection for the country"s natural riches
The decision of the government about the environmental network Natura 2000
Over six weeks late, the Bulgarian government has finally decided on the sites it will submit to the European Commission as part of the EU’s Natura 2000 network of specially protected areas. Almost half of the most important sites identified by scientists, including nearly the entire Black Sea coast, have been removed from the list due to "investors" interests.
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http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/europe/what_we_do/danube_carpathian/?154081/Slippery-slope-ahead-for-ski-resorts-in-CEE
13 Jan 2009
New research suggests that ambitious plans for dozens of new ski resorts in Central and Eastern Europe could be constructed on slippery financial slopes.
The potential financial uncertainty on the future viability of the resorts is also adding to concerns that some of Europe’s last wilderness areas will be damaged to little purpose.
1522 visits
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressRe[ ... ]&guiLanguage=en
12 December 2008: Europe"s rich patchwork of protected flora and fauna grew further today with a major extension of Natura 2000, the EU"s network of protected natural areas. The additions include 769 new sites and a total area of 95,522 km2. Most of the sites are in the newer Member States. Romania and Bulgaria have now added areas to the network for the first time, including areas along the Black Sea that are home to numerous varieties of rare and threatened plants and animals. Natura 2000 now includes around 25,000 sites, covering almost 20% of the EU’s landmass, making it the largest interconnected network of protected areas in the world. It is the EU"s key weapon in the fight against biodiversity loss.
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On 8 June 2007 the Municipal Expert Council of the Municipality of Smolyan authorized the Modification of the General Spatial Plan (GSP) of the “Perelik sports and tourist center” by Decree No.624/08.06.2007 without carrying out any Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and following Article 6 procedures. This is in ...
The beatiful region of Maljovitsa in Rila mountain is privatised by highly illegal practices of "forest swaps" aimed at the construction of a new ski resort in the forested lands of Govedartsi village, Samokov Municipality, instead of forest management improvement practices. Forest swaps are alleged illegal state aid a ...
Pirin National Park has unique natural resources such as pine woods which are more than 120 years old, including the Baikusheva White Fir – the oldest tree on the Balkan Peninsula. A 2009 satellite image analysis of the Bansko Ski Zone revealed that it was more than twice the size of the concession contract permitted ...
Petition (new) for saving Vitosha Nature Park
05.01.2012 - 01.01.2013
6040 signed >
PETITION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT on the delay of 4 and а half years of the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria to designate the proposed by the environmental and scientific community Natura 2000 zone RILA BUFFER in Rila Mountain
03.07.2011 - 31.01.2013
350 signed >
PETITION regarding the attempts of the Bulgarian Government to legalize 64.7 hectares of illegal cuttings in Pirin National Park by making amendments to existing legislation
03.07.2011 - 31.01.2013
1218 signed >
Petition for clean air in the region of Stara Zagora, Bulgaria
20.02.2010 - 31.12.2012
1894 signed >
A petition asking for the illegal ski lift in Panichishte to be removed and the laws in National Park Rila to be applied
10.04.2009 - 31.12.2012
4247 signed >
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In 681 AD Khan Asparukh founded the Bulgarian stat ...
Alvaro, 05.05.2010
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