ECOLOGIA BALKANICA 2019, Special Edition 2 pp. 199-205

The Demographic Structure of the District and the Challenges to the Protection of the Environment

Michail A. Michailov*, Galina Bezinska, Veselina H. Dalgacheva

South-West University “”, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Department of Geography, Ecology and Environmental Protection, 66 Ivan Mihailov Str., 2700 Blagoevgrad, *Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract. Demographic problems are at the root of the various challenges in terms of the environmental protection. That is why the prospect of developing all kinds of activities in this direction requires much more serious analysis and evaluation. According to these reasons, an analysis of the available information on the demographic structure of the Blagoevgrad region, it isoffers a specific commentary and forecast of the prospects for the future activities for of the environmental protection.

Key words: demographic problems, environmental protection, demographics, Blagoevgrad.

Introduction some reason, this should not reassure us that On the eve of 2020, it is important to pay adequate measures are taken to protect our more attention to the increasing issues of our environment in modern society. environment. Looking at the situation more In the context described, it is interesting accurately, even with the naked eye, it is to discuss a different treatment of the found that it is already 1/5 years (i.e. 20%) of situation. We believe it would be useful to the 21st century. Society is developing at an interpret the phrase of France's first female unknown pace, compared to the previous cosmonaut, Clonie Enire, that we no longer XIX and XX centuries, and quite different in have to ask ourselves "how will we act", but the , and so on. In such a just "by whom we will act"? what will society context, new objectives and tasks need to be be to respond to the challenges of protecting set in front of the environmental protection our environment in the future. activities and the forms and ways of their In connection with the above, the implementation need to be updated. It is no question of the influence of the Man, incl. longer sufficient to take into account, as and the Society. And while this issue of successes in this respect, the commitments climate change is still debating, there is for the construction of municipal waste water enough argument for the role of Man and treatment plants, as these are the main Society in our environment. commitments of the structures of That is why we propose to make more urbanization and regional development. And specific analysis and comment on the if these commitments were not implemented information on population growth and the or realized in the last twentieth century, for development of the Society (Fig. 1).

© Ecologia Balkanica Union of Scientists in Bulgaria – http://eb.bio.uni-plovdiv.bg University of Plovdiv Publishing House The Demographic Structure of the Blagoevgrad District and the Challenges to the Protection of the Environment

Regarding the presented figure (Fig. 1) population growth rate (below 20 (prepared from a number of sources, such as people/year). (WPS, 2019), and tailored to the topic The third, after the second half of the discussed), it is necessary to note that studies twentieth century - with a high rate of on population growth trends in the world are population growth (more than 60 quite popular in the world and in our people/year) and the beginning of the 21st country. But usually they are aimed at century (more than 240 people/year). different demographic problems and those The comparison between the first and related to economies, the labor market and third periods makes it possible to draw some more. In this case, this type of information is important conclusions. For thousands of discussed from the point of view of years, one has been able to live and develop in environmental protection activities and harmony with nature. Modernity puts a very approaches to assessing anthropogenic interesting task to us - one must protect the impact on it. surrounding environment (ie nature) in order It is noteworthy that the two-fold to live and develop. increase in population has committed periods of a very different duration - between Material and Methods more than 1000 years to 40 years. Over a long The present study used (collected, historical period (before the New Age and processed and analyzed) data (Administrative around the 17th Century) there was a two- Atlas of the Republic of Bulgaria, 2002; NSI, fold increase in population in 10-20-40 and 2019) for the territory of the country more generations, whereas in the nineteenth (including Blagoevgrad region), presenting century and then, the double increase in the results obtained and making population was recorded for much shorter recommendations to draw the public's period (less than 100 years) - that is, from 1 to attention to the need for its involvement in the 5 generations. idea of improving environmental activities. Information on the double increase in Therefore, it is necessary to analyze in population can also be an additional criterion more detail the work on impact assessments for the role of Man in the environment in on our environment. It should be noted that which he lives and the Society in which he there are several "discrepancies" in the legal develops. The amendment to this criterion, framework regarding the term "impact" in incl. and the dynamics with which it changes the field of our environment. can be used as an additional indicator for The information presented above shows assessing the impact of different human that after the second half of the twentieth activities on environmental components (Fig. century it is naïve to expect that the various 2). impacts on our environment may be If we introduce the term "growth rate," "insignificant". Even the simple actions of we will find a very interesting trend. ordinary people to meet their everyday For example, it is remarkable that the needs, with the current number of people in rate of population growth is very different the world, can have a "significant" impact on and that environmental impact can be the components of the environment assessed through it. (depending on the specifics of the region). Three very different periods can be Therefore, it should be noted that not distinguished. complicating the procedures for One, very long, up to the 17th century - environmental assessments (MICHAILOV, with a very small, almost invisible, rate of 2002) and the search for and application of population growth (below 5 people/year). quantitative measures will increase the role The other, in the seventeenth century and importance of the overall activity on and early twentieth century - with a small them.

200 Michail A. Michailov, Galina Bezinska, Veselina H. Dalgacheva

Fig. 1. World population growth tendencies (data obtained from WPS, 2019).

Fig. 2. Age structure of Blagoevgrad region.

201 The Demographic Structure of the Blagoevgrad District and the Challenges to the Protection of the Environment

Fig. 3. Demographic structure of some villages in Blagoevgrad region.

Based on the comment made, we municipalities, by processing the conducted a more specialized study on the information on the number of inhabitants in future initiatives in the field of the settlements and the activities they carry environmental protection at a relatively low out in the construction of the various sites of regional level (Ordinance #256, 2010). the network, in the construction of From the attached figure (Fig. 2), it is infrastructure sites in settlements, as well as clear that the majority of the population of mining sites and landfills, and not least the Blagoevgrad region (in 2011) is up to 59 through agricultural activities, for years of age, ie. young people, and in active manifestations of the population through age, and a much smaller proportion - aged which an activity of anthropogenic character is 60 to 69, and even fewer - over 80 years of carried out. age.

These values are quite different for Fagr .ar .+F set .ur .+F tt .inf .+F m.w . individual settlements, especially for some C anthrop= N mum villages in the region, which can be illustrated by the data on some villages (Fig. (ha/inhabitant), 3). The structure of the population in this locality is completely different - the relative where: share of the young population (up to 29 Canthrop - anthropogenic load factor (index); years) is significantly smaller than the Fagr.ar. - agricultural areas in the municipalities; proportion of the adult population (over 60). Fset.ur. - area of settlements and other urbanized areas;

The above gives us reason to propose Ftt.inf. - territory for transport and infrastructure; for a more serious discussion the subject of Fm.w. - area for minerals and landfills for waste; the meaning of the different activities for Nmun - residents of the municipality. preservation of the components of our environment. Results and Discussion In this regard, as an indicator, we The results obtained are presented propose to use the so-called the graphically (Fig. 4).

Anthropogenic Load Index (Cantrop), which takes It is noteworthy that two distinctly into account the impact of the different different areas are differentiated, one

202 Michail A. Michailov, Galina Bezinska, Veselina H. Dalgacheva focusing more on the abscissa axis and the are quite varied, which is an indication of other one more on the ordinate axis. the necessity of changes in regional policy This, on the abscissa axis, refers to the for all activities, including these for municipalities of Cantrop < 10 and the other, protection each local environment. developed more by the ordinate axis, for the In the near and far-off perspective, we municipalities with Cantrop > 10th. will have much more serious and far-

The group with Cantrop < 5 until Cantrop < 10 reaching tasks that will require much more includes 67 municipalities (about 25% of the serious attitude towards the education of municipalities in Bulgaria), of which 9 specialists, which will be able to solve the municipalities in Plovdiv region (11 problems of Society related to them – municipalities), 8 municipalities in the organizational (Environmental Protection region (11 municipalities), 7 Law, 2002), legal (Administrative Atlas of municipalities in the Blagoevgrad region (14 the Republic of Bulgaria, 2002; MICHAILOV, municipalities), 6 municipalities in the 2002; NSI, 2019), technical, social (NSI, 2019; region (22 municipalities), 6 municipalities in Ordinance #53, 2003), etc. the region (10 municipalities) and 1-2 Due to the above findings and municipalities - in the other districts (usually conclusions, it is necessary to take into the municipality of the district ). account the specific position of the

According to the proposed criterion, Cantrop, Blagoevgrad region (Fig. 5, Table 1) in located mostly on the ordinate axis, is about relation to the discussed issues. This area is 75% of the municipalities in Bulgaria. They one of the most distinctive areas with more include Treklyano municipality with Cantrop = significant anthropogenesis of the individual 130.37 i.e. the anthropogenic activities of the municipalities, which will (inevitably) affect population of the municipality are quite modest the environmental protection activities in the compared to the territory of the municipality. future. It is therefore appropriate to note the Compared to the other group, for Varna need for a deeper study of the processes on municipality, this coefficient is the opposite, its territory, especially given the

Cantrop = 0.51 i.e. with very distinct demographic projections for a population anthropogenic interference. decline in the area in 2080 by about 45%. Curious results are obtained using this The situation described here is quite coefficient, also determined by population intriguing. On the one hand are the data by the end of 2017 (Ordinance #256, problems of the Society - demographic, 2010). The following (more interesting) economic, educational, social and others. classification may be offered. and on the other hand, the challenges of the Extreme values for the level of environment. Regardless of the different anthropogenic interference are only types of forecasts, we cannot expect available for three municipalities. These are significant changes in the trends in the the municipalities of Plovdiv, Varna and movement of the population towards the Sofia-city, for which the coefficient (index), larger cities and economically developed

Cantrop, is less than 1. territories, including the depopulation of It is worth noting that with the increase other settlements and territories, but at the and decrease of the population in the same time, the challenges facing the different different types of urbanized territories activities they will become increasingly (irrespective of whether they are cities or important in protecting our environment. villages) there are problems in the In this regard, it is imperative to declare management, development and protection of that it is necessary to envisage (forecast), the surrounding environment. plan, and implement activities in the field of The different values obtained by the environmental protection in all spheres of proposed criterion (coefficient, index), Cantrop, the Company's activities - administrative,

203 The Demographic Structure of the Blagoevgrad District and the Challenges to the Protection of the Environment educational, production, social, etc. Because conservation is the rational use of raw the basic rule is - the best means of materials and resources.

Fig. 4. Anthropogenic Load Index (Cantrop) – according by municipalities populations (2017).

Fig. 5. Levels of anthropogenic impact of the municipalities in the Blagoevgrad region.

204 Michail A. Michailov, Galina Bezinska, Veselina H. Dalgacheva

Table. 1. Levels of anthropogenic impact of References the municipalities in the Blagoevgrad region. Administrative Atlas of the Republic of Bulgaria. 2002. Publ. “Education and

Municipality Cantrop Science” EAD, Sofia. (In Bulgarian). 14.11 Environmental Protection Law. 2002. 7.37 Promulgated. - State Gazzete, 91(2002) - Blagoevgrad 4.48 101(2019). (In Bulgarian). 4.58 MICHAILOV M. 2002. Problems in assessing 7.75 the anthropogenic impact on water in 15.42 Bulgaria. - In: Proceedings - Seventh 5.92 National Symposium “Quality, 8.74 Competitiveness, Sustainable 10.33 Development”. Sofia. (In Bulgarian). Satovcha 8.70 NSI. 2019. National Statistical Institute. Available at: [www.nsi.bg] (In 12.50 Bulgarian). Strumiani 20.44 Ordinance #256. 2010. Ordinance on Hadjidimovo 16.25 environmental quality standards for Iakoruda 11.50 priority substances and some other pollutants. - State Gazzete, 88(2010), Conclusions 97(2015). (In Bulgarian). The following conclusions and Ordinance #53. 2003. Ordinance on the recommendations can be proposed: conditions and procedure for carrying 1. The current attitude towards out environmental impact assessment. demographic problems is not in line with the - State Gazzete, 25(2003), 67(2019). (In challenges of the various activities and the Bulgarian). problems they raise with regard to the WPS. 2019. World population statistics. Available at: maintenance of life and the need to preserve [worldometers.info]. our environment. 2. It is imperative to update some subnormal documents (ordinances, guidelines, etc.) related to environmental protection activities due to significant discrepancies with the requirements for these activities. 3. In relation to the issues under consideration these forecasts are not very encouraging. 4. It is desirable to continue the analyzes and the above considerations for the other municipalities in Bulgaria, in order to obtain more detailed information on the level of environmental protection activities, as well as the expectations of the Society for Received: 02.09.2019 achieving a favorable environment for life. Accepted: 05.12.2019

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