Bulgarian Government Acts to Make Illegal Resort Development Legal
Bulgarian Government Acts to Make Illegal Resort Development Legal
Published : 17-Aug-2011 06:42
Bansko Protestors in Sofia
The rather murky world of Bulgarian ski resort development came in to some focus a few weeks ago when the World Wildlife Fund report that hundreds of people joined a protest in central Sofia to voice their concern over a planned amendment of legislation proposed by the Bulgarian government to cover up construction violations of Bansko Ski Zone over the past decade, built in the heart of Pirin National Park.
It has emerged that over the past 10 years, Bansko Ski Zone has been constructed on a territory larger than the one designated by the concession contract, which makes around 40% of it illegal.
Much of the illegal building has taken place on national park land which is also a UNESCO World Heritage site leading to tyhe involvement of the EC and UNESCO who have threatened penalties over the year, although so far there has been no sign of these happening.
Environment minister Nona Karadzhova has said that rather than ask that the illegally built ski lifts and buildings are removed, the government plans to solve the problem by amending the Concession Law so that the unlawfully built ski facilities on close to 647,000 m2 would become retrospectively legal.
The concession contract for Bansko Ski Zone was signed in 2001 with the concession rights given to Yulen JSCo., whose present major shareholders are two offshore companies as well as Bansko municipality. The offshore businesses lack any transparency as to who runs them but it has been alleged that their ultimate boss may be the head of the Bulgarian Ski Federation.
"If the law is amended, this would mean that the government is letting a private company usurp state land instead of punishing the offender", said Vesselina Kavrakova, Programme Manager of the WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme in Bulgaria. "This move would show support for the destruction of Bulgaria's protected areas and encourage breaking the law when it comes to nature conservation, This would be completely against the principles of EU environmental protection."
Pirin National Park is a part of the EU's environmental network NATURA 2000 and a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site. The European Commission is currently investigating illegal construction of ski runs and facilities on the territory of the park after 2007, when Bulgaria became a EU member. Meanwhile, UNESCO have declared that if construction violations go ahead, they will designate Pirin National Park a World Natural Heritage site in danger.
National parks and reserves in Bulgaria represent exclusive state land and are the territories most protected by law. Their entire ownership belongs exclusively to the state and hence to the Bulgarian people.
Pirin National Park has unique natural resources such as 120 year old pine forests, including the oldest tree on the Balkan peninsula – Baikushev's pine with an approximate age of 1,300 years.
WWF is calling on the Bulgarian government to take charge of the illegally built installations for the benefit of the state and begin to recultivate the land.
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