Conditions for Cross-Border Co-Operation in Southern Bulgaria: Kurdjali District Case Study
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CONDITIONS FOR CROSS-BORDER CO-OPERATION IN SOUTHERN BULGARIA: KURDJALI DISTRICT CASE STUDY POLI ROUKOVA Institute of Geography, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Introduction Cross-border co-operation between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Greece is the subject of particular attention on the part of governmental bodies, in compliance with the pursued policy of integration of our country into the European space. In the context of regional development, there are some differences in the conditions for cross-border co-operation in the different border regions. The most important reasons for this situation are the existing disparities and the uneven rates of their social and economic development. The far more active economic, transport, tourist and other contacts in the southeast end of the Bulgarian-Greek frontier, along the axis Thessaloniki-Kulata-Sofia, may serve as a good example of this effect. The objective of this paper is to present the conditions and possibilities for cross-border co-operation (CBC) of a specific border region. The Kurdjali District (Southern Bulgaria) has been chosen as a case study because of its numerous and complex problems that are runing concurrent with economic transformation. The advantages and disadvantages of the CBC are outlined on the basis of an analysis of the regional economy and infrastructure, as well as on the basis of the national policies (section 2) and programmes for regional and economic development of the Kurdjali District (section 3). Regional Economy and Infrastructure The Kurdjali District covers an area of 3,209 km2 or 2.9% of the total area of the country. It is situated in the eastern part of the Rhodopes. The southern border of the district traverses the state frontier with the Republic of Greece. The average altitude of the district is 329 m above sea level. The district possesses considerable deposits of mineral resources. Extraction and processing of lead- zinc ore are of utmost economic significance. There are substantial deposits of non-mineral raw materials as well - zeolit, trass, betonite, talc -magnesite, asbestos, talc, talc slates, perlite etc. The most important among them are the deposits of zeolit, betonite, trass and perlit. The district is rich in water resources: rivers, dams, underground waters. The Arda River, flowing through it, with its runoff of 2,507 million m3 (in an average year) is the third biggest Bulgarian river (after the rivers Maritza and Struma). It has the highest specific discharge – 14 l/sec./km2. The HPPs built on the Arda River turn out nearly 15% of the total power generated by HPPs. Its biggest tributaries – Varbitza river and Krumovitza river - also run through the district. The district ranks as one of the first places in the country in terms of 24-hour water discharge rate per inhabitant. The soils are leached cinnamonic forest, alluvial and alluvial-meadow. Large areas suffer from erosion. The soils feature low to medium productivity (Atlas Environment of the Republic of Bulgaria, 1995). They are appropriate for the cultivation of tobacco. The arable land accounts for about 18% of the total area of the district. In terms of the indicator "Arable land per inhabitant", the district ranks as one of the last places nationwide. The afforestation of the district area is 42%. Most common are the low-stem, oak and beech forests. The least afforested area is the northern part of the district. Coniferous forests have been planted on the deforested areas. The district area is rich in natural, and especially historic, sights. Numerous archeological landmarks have been discovered in the region: settlements, necropolis, sanctuaries, tumuli, roads etc. belonging to prehistoric, Thracian, Roman, Byzantine, Mediaeval Bulgarian and late Turkish cultures. (Roukova, 2000) The Kurdjali District (NUTS III) comprises 7 municipalities (NUTS IV) with a total population of 201,162 inhabitants (1999). The average population density (63 inh./km2) is below the national average. The ethnic structure shows a big share of Muslim population – 87% district average. The demographic processes are characterised by negative trends that are identical with the national-level ones – negative natural population growth rate, decrease of population by migration and emigration, deteriorated age structure of the population with a growing relative share of the ageing population. Natural, political and socio-economic development factors determine the uneven spatial distribution of the population there. In recent years, the number of inhabitants in the Kurdjali District has been diminishing, mainly due to economic migration to Turkey. All in all, this has had a negative impact on both population size and its reproductive capacity. The settlements network is relatively evenly developed and comprises 472 settlements, including only 5 cities: Kurdjali, Ardino, Djebel, Momchilgrad and Krumovgrad. These cities and two villages - Krumovo and Chernoochene - are centers of the respective municipalitie s. The share of urban population is only 33% of the total, i.e. below the national average. The city of Kurdjali is the biggest city in the region with 25% of the total population of the district. It is the administrative centre of the district. A large number of the smaller settlements are depopulated. The negative economic tendencies in the district under review are considerably higher than the national ones during the transition period. As a consequence of the territorial concentration inland during the period of the centrally planned economy, the economic activities in the district are less developed and are dominated by manufacturing facilities of narrow specialisation. As early as during the 80s, programmes for economic stabilisation of the underdeveloped peripheral regions, one of which is the Kurdjali District, were passed. However, one half of the area of the district used to fall under the 30km-long frontier zone with special permit access regime, that acted as a strong barrier to its development The structure of the total revenue from economic activity by sectors in 1997 was as follows: industry – 79.5%; agriculture and forestry – 2.9%; and services –17.6%, i.e. the regional economy is dominated by industry. The major industries in the region are non-ferrous ore mining, textile and apparel industries, processing of construction materials, logging and wood processing, tobacco processing. Machine tool engineering is less developed. Power generation from hydroelectric power plants is of regional significance; however there is a very good resource potential for its future development. The state has retained its ownership of the largest industrial plants in the district – the Lead and Zinc Smelting Plant, the Betonite Company, the Gorubso Company yet. The enterprises in the textile, clothing and food and beverages industries have been fully privatised. In recent years, there has been a boom in the development of new SMEs in the clothing industry in the area (Begg, Pickles, Roukova, 1999). Foreign investors have placed themselves successfully in this field as well. Some of the largest apparel companies (with more than 100 employees) are owned by Greek, Turkish and German companies. In only two years (1998-2000), the number of employees in the BulFanco company has increased from 100 to 450. The investments made in Franco amount to DEM 4 2 million. Another Greek apparel company has invested DEM 1 million. Three big German companies for ready-made clothes and two Italian shoe-making companies also operate in the district. Some of the prerequisites for this development are the available unoccupied building stock, the free labour, the favourable local taxes and charges, etc. The companies as a whole adapt slowly to the changing economic environment. Some of the most outstanding problems are the shrinking domestic market, the shortage of operative funds, the lack of knowledge about foreign trade procedures - agreements, quotas, etc., the low competitive capacity (particularly in the case of SMEs), the absence of a proprietary product range etc. The city of Kurdjali is the biggest industrial centre of the district, accounting for more than 80% of its industrial output. Other industrial centres are the cities of Momchilgrad, Djebel, Krumovgrad and the village of Kirkovo. The agrarian reform has had a severe impact on the previously extensive and monocultural agriculture of the area. Plant-growing is specialised in tobacco, covering more than 90% of the farmland, and potatoes. In recent years, the cultivation of tobacco has diminished almost twofold because of the unfavourable market conditions - a drop in the purchase prices. The district features suitable conditions for cultivation of viticulture and cherry trees. Livestock rearing is represented by sheep-, goat- and cattle -breeding and fish-farming. The natural meadows, pastures and dams offer a good material stock for its development. Livestock rearing, with small exceptions, is designated above all for meeting the demand of the farmers and their families. There are good opportunities for its expansion and respectively for the creation of SMEs for processing of meat and dairy products. During the period of transition,a steady trend of a drop in the employment rate in the district has been noted. Against a national average of -24% for the period 1990-1998, the district average is -48% (1991-1998). The sectors hit worst by this negative trend were agriculture (–93%), followed by industry (–43%) (Pickles, J., R.Begg, 2000). As a consequence of the economic crisis, the region has been notorious for its chronically high unemployment rate (up to 30-40%) for many years. This trend has changed during the last 2 years, and in 2000 the rate was 16%, or below the national average of 18%. There are two major causes for this development: 1) labour migration inland and economic emigration abroad; 2) the creation of a large number of new SMEs, above all in the clothing industry (Roukova, 2001). In 1999, the coefficient of employment of the Kurdjali District was 41.3% compared to 32.1% national average.