/View.info/ The Commission recommends us to act quickly in the field of the environment
Bulgaria does not adequately manage its national parks and protected areas, says a special EC report on the fulfillment of our country’s obligations in the field of ecology and the environment, published in February (SWD(2017) 35). In it, our country is criticized for delaying the adoption of the Management Plans for the National Parks, which leads to a lack of adequate measures for their protection and preservation of their biodiversity.
There is no administrative capacity to manage the natural parks, the report states.
Bulgaria has 9 national parks, which are protected areas and are managed by the state. Each of them should have an up-to-date management plan to protect their unique ecosystems and the great diversity of plant and animal species.
Natural parks such as Rila, Pirin, Bulgarka have not had updated management plans for several years, others such as the plan of PP Strandja, have been waiting to be adopted for 14 years.
The EC Report raises other issues such as: the protection of human health through measures to eliminate polluted air; investment in treatment plants and improvement of drinking water quality and implementation of Natura 2000 legislation.
“Regarding Natura 2000, Bulgaria has created 3 governing bodies that duplicate functions with the management of national and nature parks. Management Plans have been developed for these 9 parks, but none of them are current. For very few of the remaining Natura 2000 sites there are active management plans,” reads the Commission’s remark. Although our country has generally made progress in the “environment” sector and improved its legislation since accession, there are still “significant gaps” in its implementation, the EC found in its report.
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