19.3.2007

BULGARIA'S NATURA 2000 EXPLANATIONS

09:00 Mon 19 Mar 2007
http://www.sofiaecho.com/

An indefinite protest in support of Natura 2000 was supposed to start on March 13. The protesters – citizens and students, at the initiative of eco-organisations within the coalition To Sustain Nature in Bulgaria and the civil group Da Spasim Irakli (Let’s Save Irakli), – were planning to stand in front of the Council of Ministers and the car park of the Cabinet every day from 7.30am till 7.30pm. It was to continue until the demands of those fighting to defend Natura 2000 were satisfied.

On March 12, after receiving a response to their letter of intent to Sofia municipality, saying that they were only allowed to protest in the park area in front of the mineral water baths in the centre of Sofia and not at the “hot points” requested, the protesters decided to postpone their demonstration. In a media statement they said that they were looking for and surely will find an appropriate way to declare their demands.

The citizens insist on protection of the territories under dispute as specified in the Natura 2000 programme, banning of all construction and other nature-harming activities, and conducting only agricultural activities on the private lands until the state survey is carried out. They also want the Cabinet to meet some of the experts who worked to define the boundaries of Natura 2000 in front of the media. The final demand is for the Government to give clear explanations for the huge decrease in territories.

The ecologists said Sofia municipality changed the location of their protest and wanted to restrict its timing, while “allowing (protests) for the land owners whose demands are against the network”.
The protest was to be conducted under the motto “Let us do the Government’s job”, because it also explains the benefits of the ecological network to society, something the Bulgarian Government has failed to do.

On March 7, a conference about Natura 2000 and the role of business took place, organised by WWF and the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria, the Bulgarian-language Dnevnik reported. It became clear that all projects in the network for which the specific ecological assessment shows potential negative impact on the preserved habitats and species could be realised after changes.
The first draft of the ordinance for procedures for this ecological assessment is ready but it still did not pass agreementin the Ministry of Environment and Water Affairs (MOEW). It will be directly approved by Environment and Water Affairs Minister Djevdet Chakurov.

Andreas Beckman of WWF said that in case it became necessary to build a highway in nesting areas of endangered birds, for instance, a noise-isolating screen would be enough for the project to be approved.
The paper factory Mondy Packaging Stambolijski said that one of its platforms fell into the Natura 2000 boundaries. Ivailo Zafirov of the newly established Natura department in MOEW’s National Nature Protection Office said they would not be assessed because of status quo.