ARCH TRAINER EXCHANGE
JULY 2008
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
I work as an Area Officer for Scottish Natural Heritage covering part of the Aberdeenshire area. My job involves providing advice to other organisations and agencies about protected sites and species and the legislation relating to them. I was therefore particularly interested to learn how Bulgaria is approaching the Natura legislation. I also help to monitor and manage different protected sites, including oak woodlands, wetlands, species rich grasslands, and upland sites. I work with landowners of protected sites and try to develop management plans in order to maintain the interest of the site. In particular I am involved in managing an oak woodland site so I was interested to see what pressures there are on woodland sites in Bulgaria and how these is managed.
DAY 1 - SATURDAY 5TH JULY
UNIVERSITY OF FORESTRY, SOPHIA
The group visited the University of Forestry in Sophia and were met by Assistant Professor Stoyan Stoyanov. This was a general introduction to species and habitat management and issues relating to these across Bulgaria.
Picture 1 – Professor Stoyan Stoyanov
Species
Bulgaria is home to around 100 species of mammal, including some which have become extinct in the UK such as brown bear, wolf and lynx. Around 400 bird species are also found here, including osprey and white-tailed eagle. The Black Sea coast is an important location for migratory species.
The Bulgarian government has recently started an offset goose-feeding scheme that includes payments to farmers to manage farmland to attract geese and so reduce damage to adjacent farmland. Similar schemes are run in Scotland around some of the largest migratory goose roost sites where a large amount of agricultural damage occurs from goose feeding.
The University has a zoology museum that contains examples of around 50% of the bird and mammal species found in Bulgaria.
At the University a high proportion of the students study game management and population ecology. Hunting is important for the country’s economy and attracts a lot of tourism.
Hunting is carried out on private and government owned states. Generally the hunting estates decide on hunting limits of each species. However, the government decides how many deer, boar and moufflon can be taken. There is an outright ban on hunting brown bear but they can be taken under licence, where they are causing damage to livestock. Surprisingly, wolves, which are extinct in the U.K. are allowed to be hunted but an annual limit of around 200 is set. This appears to be sustainable as numbers are increasing. A Biodiversity Action Plan is currently being developed for wolves.
Capercaillie has partial protection and a hunting limit of 2000 birds is set for each year. Black grouse have been extinct in Bulgaria for the past 100 years. Reintroduction projects have been unsuccessful.
Wildcat are present in Bulgaria. Prof Stoyanov told us that the population is fairly stable across the country and the species is not endangered. However, since Bulgaria joined the EU, the wildcat is now fully protected as a European Protected Species.
Around 20% of the country’s hunting estates are state run. The remaining 80% is privately owned.
There are around 800 brown bears in Bulgaria, mainly found in the Central Balkan Mountains. The species are red listed, and a biodiversity action plan is currently being drafted for them. There is also legal provision to cull bears that become a risk to human safety and cause agricultural damage.
Poaching of protected species is thought to be a big problem in Bulgaria although little reliable data exists and very few cases are brought to prosecution.
Forestry
Around 1/3 of the country is wooded and forestry is an important industry for the Bulgarian economy. The main types of woodland are oak, beech and pine. The forestry industry is government run. A high percentage of the woodland is primeval forest and is an important habitat for a variety of species including the 3-toed woodpecker. The Ludogorie plane in NE Bulgaria is one of the largest expanses of wild forest in the country.
Forestry is state managed and landowners have to apply for felling licences, as landowners do in the U.K. The state forestry organisation produces forest design plans. These are developed using a stakeholder approach, consulting landowners, NGO’s and other interested parties.
Development conflict
We heard that a number of proposals for offshore windfarms have come forward in recent years along the black sea coast. This coastline is an important migration route for birds between Europe and Africa. Numerous proposals have been granted permission by the government despite concerns about impacts to birds. This appears to have occurred prior to Special Protection Areas being finalised. There are a high number of windfarm proposals coming through from private investors and NGO’s such as Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) have expressed concern that some of these are proposed for sensitive sites.
Natura 2000
It is predicted that around 30% of land in Bulgaria will be Natura designated. This is still to be finalised. The government initially wanted no more than 20%, however, NGO’s have successfully lobbied to increase this.
Cave at Saeva Dupka, Teteven
We paid a visit to a 3 million year old cave at Saeva dubka. The cave is a tourist attraction with guided walks. There are three large chambers in the cave and is used as a bat hibernacula in winter for a number of species including greater and lesser horseshoe bats.
DAY 2 – CENTRAL BALKAN NATIONAL PARK
We travelled a visitor’s centre in Ribarica which is in the northern part of the Central Balkan National Park where we met one of the park rangers with whom we discussed general issues relating to the park’s wildlife, habitat and management issues.
Picture 2 – Visitors Centre at Ribarica
There are two types of park designation in Bulgaria. There are National Parks that are managed directly through central government and Natural Parks, which are managed through the State Agency of Forests, which are a quango. This is a similar arrangement to how National Nature Reserves and National parks are managed in Scotland and the U.K. Like the U.K. National Parks have more direct controls over development and forestry operations.
The park covers 72,000ha and contains 9 reserves, around which the Park boundary was created. Within the reserve areas there are no formal settlements, only mountain huts for walkers, and there are strict limitations on any development and forest operations within these areas. Outwith the reserve areas the controls are less strict, for instance, locals are allowed to collect wood for personal use which they cannot do in the reserve areas.
Access in the park is strictly controlled. Visitors have to stick to trails and only rangers are allowed unrestricted access. This differs from Scotland, where responsible access is generally unrestricted on Reserves.
Park habitats and species
The park has 2 altitudinal zone: the forest zone and the subalpine zone.
The forest zone comprises mainly beech and oak woodland. Typical shrubs in the beech woodland include hornbeam, the common and Turkish hazelnut and the endemic Balkan maple. Herbaceous species in the beech forest include belladonna, sanicle, woodrush species.
Oak woodlands cover a smaller area, typically on the southern slopes of the National Park. The dominant species is Drumast oak, with small-leaved lime, hycranian maple, and ash. The herb layer is typically richer than that of the beech forest. Plants include the endemic sarureja pilosa, Hellebore, the European columbine and the snowdrop.
Picture 3 – View across Central Balkan National Park
Conifer forests have a limited distribution and are dominated by Norway spruce and silver fir, but also some Macedonian pine, which is a species endemic to the Balkan peninsula. These are typically on the northern facing slopes of the mountains.
Mammal species within the park include brown bear, which are typically found in the denser coniferous woodland. In addition wildcat, red deer, pine martin, wild boar and wolves are found here.
The subalpine zone lies above the tree line. Shrub species include Siberian and Sabina juniper and Balkan broom. Dwarf shrubs include blueberry, mountain cranberry, spike heath and Blagay’s Daphne. The pasture areas are dominated by tall and black fescue, and Balkan moor grass. Wildflower species include Edelweiss and globe flower.
Conflicts
When the park was first created there was some resistance from locals, mainly because of the restrictions on forestry operations that the designation would bring. However, according to the ranger, the local community are now generally supportive of the park as it brings in extra business from tourism. In addition the park creates job opportunities as it encourages local residents to train as park rangers.
There is significant pressure from private investors to develop within the park, particularly of ski resorts, and arguments that the economic benefits this would bring would outweigh the negative impact that this would have on the environments. We also heard that local communities are generally supportive of this as it would increase income over the winter months.
Local Sheep Farm Co-operative
We visited a local sheep farm co-operative in Pleven, at the foot of Mount Botev. The farm is a co-operative of around 200 local residents. The sheep graze in the subalpine zone, above the tree-line. Around 31,000 sheep grazed the hills at one point. This is now reduced to around 2100, and farmers receive subsidies from the government to continue. The decline is attributable to the industrialisation of the country resulting in a drain of population in rural areas.
Picture 4 – Sheep farm dairy, Pleven
The co-operative was established 5 years ago to increase sheep grazing on common grazing land. The co-operative have a contract with the National Park to continue grazing the land. It appeared that the grazing contributed to maintaining the habitat in the subalpine zone and the farmer we spoke to mentioned that they may be required to carry out some scrub clearance in the future.
DAY 3 – MOUNTAIN GUIDE SCHOOL AND NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, CHERNEY OSSAM, AND TOURISM OFFICE IN GABROVO
Mountain Guide School
We met with Tsvetomir Tsvetkov, the manager of the Mountain Guide School. The school is fairly unique to Bulgaria as it is unusual to have a secondary school in a rural area. The school takes in students from the ages of 14 and above from across Bulgaria. The money to run the school comes from a community fund. The school provides courses in ecology and tourism and trains students how to be walking and climbing guides and how give talks to visitors.
Picture 5 – Climbing wall at Mountain Guide School, Cherney Ossam
Cherney Ossam Natural History Museum
We were given the opportunity to look around the Natural History museum which had a wide variety of specimens of native species, including wolves and brown bear.
Tourist Office, Gabrovo
We visited the tourist office in Gabrovo and met with the Stara Planina Tourist Associations Assistant Director, Velis. The Tourist Association was founded around 12 years ago. The main aim of the association was to promote the regions by attending events and holding seminars. They work in close partnership with the Central Balkan National Park, and the Bulgarka Nature Park to promote the areas wildlife and to hopefully attract more visitors to the region. The Association was originally supported by the Swiss government, through it’s International development fund. They are now self funded and generate income by acting as a tour operator, offering holidays, weekend trips, and guided walks.
We were also met by representatives from the Bulgarka Natural Park. This park covers an area of 82,000ha in the north of the Stara Planina Mountains. The park is designated mainly for its beech woodland and parts are designated as Special Areas of Conservation (SAC). The part also has 41 plant species in the Bulgarian Red Data Book. An important long distance route called E3 runs through the park. This route runs the entire length of the Stara Planina mountain range.
The Bulgarka Park hosts school groups, and provides funding for transport for students to get to the Park.
DAY 4 – PERSINA NATURE PARK
We travelled to northern Bulgaria to visit the Persina Nature Park which is located on the River Danube on the boundary between Bulgaria and Romania. We met Veseline, a park guide, who took us out on a boat for a tour of the Park. The park is the only one of its kind in Bulgaria that covers wetland habitats. The park covers two groups of river islands, known as Belene and Kopola. These areas are designated for their wet woodland, sand banks and bird interest. 210 bird species have been recorded in the park including white-tailed sea eagle, egrets, white and black storks, whiskered tern, pelicans and osprey. Belene island is the biggest Ramsar site in Bulgaria.
Picture 6 – Pelicans and cormorants at Persina Nature Park
The World Bank Monetary Fund is currently financing habitat management works within the park. Works include the removal of dykes and infilling of ditches to re-wet the wetlands. The week before our arrival they began the re-flooding work. The Park held one of the largest mixed colonies of egret and cormorants before the flood defences were built. This was reduced dramatically after the works. This same project also works to reduce the levels of organic matter entering the Danube, however this is proving complex as the river passes through so many different countries. The impacts resulting from Bulgarian land use practises are only a small part of a greater cumulative impact.
We passed one island which is one of the oldest reserves in Bulgaria and one of the few areas of flooded forest which remains relatively untouched.
DAY 5 – CENTRAL BALKAN NATIONAL PARK – KALOFER
On the final day we crossed the mountains and walked a trail on the south side of the Central Balkan National Park. This trail was well way marked and had some interesting and effective interpretation (See pictures). The design of the boards meant that they were interactive and also fairly easy to update.
Picture 7 – Interpretation Panel, Central Balkan National Park, Kalofer
DISCUSSION
The trip to Bulgaria certainly helps to put my experience of nature conservation into perspective, having only worked in this sector within Scotland, and I found it to be a very rewarding trip. In addition, I appreciated the opportunity to be able to discuss the experiences on trip with the other participants and to find out about the different perspectives.
My main observation was the sheer scale of the native woodlands present in Bulgaria, which we do not have in Scotland. The scale of this habitat, along with the relatively low population levels in these rural areas have probably led in part to the continued survival of large mammal species, like wild boar, brown bear and wolves, that are now extinct in Scotland.
The scale of the project to restore the wetland habitat at Persina Nature Park is ambitious and it will be interesting to see how this project progresses, and how the habitat and wildlife recover in time. In Scotland wetland restoration projects can be difficult to progress due to conflicts with landowners who traditionally drain the land to make it more suitable for agricultural purposes.
From the people we met, it seemed that Bulgarians are keen to improve their economy through tourism and associated ski and hotel developments. Hopefully, Bulgaria will strike a balance between nature conservation, and economic development and social concerns. The Natura legislation will hopefully help to ensure the most valuable sites are protected from development.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you to Libby Urquhart at Arch Network Trainer Exchange and the Leonardo da Vinci programme for arranging the funding and organising the trip.
A big thank you to our guide Velislava Chiligirova met us from the airport in Sophia and was invaluable to us as an interpreter during all our visits, and showed there were no limits to her patience when we were ordering food and drinks for our evening meals.
