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REPORT on the UNESCO-IUCN MISSION to BULGARIA from 3 to 6 February 2004

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REPORT on the UNESCO-IUCN MISSION to BULGARIA from 3 to 6 February 2004 REPORT ON THE UNESCO-IUCN MISSION TO BULGARIA From 3 to 6 February 2004 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The members of the mission sincerely thank the national authorities of Bulgaria for their support, availability and assistance provided to the mission during its work. Special thanks go to the Vice Minister for Environment and Waters, Ms Fathme Illiaz, Mr Hristo Bojinov, Director of the National Nature Protection Service, and his staff, Mr Georgi Grancharov, Director of the Park, who supported the mission team in its fact-finding. We would also like to acknowledge the great interest of the different stakeholders at the World Heritage site, who provided valuable information on the situation, as well as the team of the Bulgarian-Swiss Biodiversity Conservation Programme project. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS The joint UNESCO-IUCN mission to Bulgaria took place from 3 to 6 February 2004. The mission was carried out at the request of the World Heritage Committee and at the invitation of the Bulgarian authorities. PIRIN NATIONAL PARK The mission noted that a number of ascertained and potential threats exist, including the existing ski development and potential development proposals, which could threaten the values and the integrity of the World Heritage site of Pirin National Park. The mission further noted that the response from the Government to the requests of the Committee was not adequate and that no map of the World Heritage site was provided as requested repeatedly. SREBARNA NATURE RESERVE The mission noted that the progress made with regard to reporting on the Srebarna Nature Reserve, which was removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2003. The mission recommended to process the international assistance requests under way and to enhance the collaboration with Romania as requested by the World Heritage Committee. 1 BACKGROUND TO THE MISSION The site of Pirin National Park was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1983 under natural criteria N (i), (ii) and (iii). A ski development, including construction of a hotel and ski-runs was completed in compliance with existing Bulgarian legal requirements in 1986. The twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth session of the Committee reviewed the decision to approve a modification of the existing ski development area in accordance with Bulgarian Protected Area Law and the concerns for Pirin National Park including the elaboration on the proposed ski development expansion project provided by the Ministry for Environment and Water (MoEW). The Committee requested a joint UNESCO-IUCN mission to review the situation, which was carried out from 11-16 February 2002 and its report was presented to the twenty-sixth session of the World Heritage Committee in June 2002. The Committee endorsed the recommendations of the 2002 mission (enclosed as Annex III) and the State Party provided no follow-up until May 2003. The twenty-seventh session of the World Heritage Committee (June/July 2003) requested a rapid assessment mission to Sofia, Bulgaria, to address all the issues indicated in the Committee’s decision (see TOR and mission schedule as Annex 6.1 and 6.2 respectively). 2 NATIONAL POLICY FOR THE PRESERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE WORLD HERITAGE PROPERTY The area of the Pirin Mountains is legally protected since 1962. It was extended several times, in 1976 to 27,000 ha and again in 1987 to its present size, 40,356 ha and renamed as Pirin National Park. By the Order # 225/09.12.1982 of UNESCO, Pirin National Park was designated as a World Heritage site with an area of 26,423,80 ha. No map with the borders of the World Heritage site was officially presented when it was inscribed in the World Heritage List in 1983. The State Party also never asked for the extension of the World Heritage site (to the present size of the Pirin National Park). The Save PIRIN Campaign, a coalition of NGOs, provided the mission team with an unofficially map with the borders of the Pirin National Park. From this map it is evident that the present ski- zones – Bansko and two smaller areas would be within the World Heritage site. Management structure and response to the recognition of values under international treaties and programmes International conventions of which Bulgaria is a party (besides the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage and the European Directives) are: Convention on Biological Diversity; European Landscape Convention; Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora; Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats /Bern/; Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals /Bonn/; Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats of wild fauna and flora; Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds and Seville Strategy for Biosphere Reserves, March 1995 – Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO. (The Bayuvi Dupki – Dzhindzhirtza Reserve was designated as a biosphere reserve in 1977, but it does not meet the international criteria for biosphere reserves). 3 IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT OF ISSUES 3.1 Management & management plan The management of the Pirin National Park is carried out by the Ministry of Environment and Water (MoEW). The National Nature Protection Service (NNPS) with the Ministry plays a coordinating and controlling role related to the management of the protected areas. The Pirin National Park Directorate realizes the direct management and the implementation of the state policy. With the adoption of the Protected Areas Act in 1998 the Pirin National Park acquired a management plan. The Memorandum of Understanding, signed by the governments of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Swiss Confederation in 1994 resulted in the origination of the Bulgarian-Swiss Biodiversity Conservation Programme (BSBCP) under which in 2001 an Amendment to the Memorandum was signed and the Pirin National Park Component was added to the Programme. The main element of this project is the elaboration of the Pirin National Park management plan. The terms of reference, prepared by the National Nature Protection Service (NNPS) and approved by the Minister of the Environment, defined the scope and contents of the management plan, which also should comply with the general European standards for planning protected areas. By the end of 2003 the Pirin National Park Management Plan was drafted and is now under the procedure to be approved by the Bulgarian authorities. The Pirin National Park draft management plan is a result of purposeful preliminary studies and planning. In the process of elaboration of the Plan 45 experts took part and a core team of consultants was constituted. Advisors from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) methodologically guided the integral process of its development as well as Swiss NGOs and experts from the National Nature Protection Service in the MoEW. The participation of the concerned institutions and persons in the planning process was ensured: the District and Municipal Administrations as well as representatives of the different tourist, sports, nature conservation and other non-governmental organizations. The levels of impact of the constraints/ threats on the goals were defined by the experts and the evaluation is made, concerning their impact on the achieving of the main goals and their territorial scope in the park. The draft management plan has elaborated the social and economic evaluation of urbanization, socio – economic conditions, ownership and management with the assessments and with proposed measures/ recommendations as well as formulating the main and the specific problems of the area and analysis of the reasons, leading to the arising of the established problems. The Pirin National Park draft management plan addresses all questions of the management and integrity of Pirin World Heritage Site, also those referred by the Report of the International Mission to Pirin National Park, Bulgaria, Robert Milne (UNESCO) and Gerhard Heiss (IUCN), 11-16 February 2002. The management plan also proposes solutions to resolve the problems, including those listed in this report and in particular: staffing capacity and capabilities of the Directorate, monitoring and control, illegal tree harvest, fires and poaching, reforestation with inappropriate plant species, unregulated grazing, uncontrolled skiers, uncontrolled tourism and camping, sewage and waste water pollution, etc. Under the prerequisite that the Bulgarian authorities will approve the management plan, secure the funds for its implementation, as well as support sustainable development programmes in the region of the Pirin National Park and World Heritage site, the violation of the legal acts and existing plans would be stopped. 3.2 Ski development Under the approved plans and projects (the Ministry of the Environment and Waters) a big number of ski-lifts or other type of facilities and ski runs are already build or under construction. According to the data from the Draft Management Plan for the Pirin National Park, the ski development zone is covering an area of ca 1000 ha, the main area is in Bansko municipality. However, the concession contract, which was signed with the Yulen Agency only for the area, which is under the ski facilities – is around 99 ha. It is evident that the buildings and constructions have a negative impact on those elements of the area, which were the reason for the Pirin National Park to be inscribed in the World Heritage List (unique landscapes, a high percentage of endemic species, one of them being the Macedonian pine forests which were partly cleared for the construction). 3.3 Other factors affecting the property The mission noted that effective means for the protection of the values of the site are not yet provided, and that no exact zoning system was put in place on the ground; The National Park Directorate has no control of the work under licences or other legal rights and that no regular monitoring system and regular reporting to the Centre exists.
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