New Conception on mountain regions� development

BlueLink

19 June 2003

Work group on preparation of new Conception on mountain regions� development was formed at a meeting in the town of Razlog, organized by the Bulgarian Association for Mountain Regions� Development BLUMONTANA. The participants were members of non-governmental organizations /NGOs/, representatives of the administrations of National parks and Nature parks, experts from the Bulgarian Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

The participants agreed that the Conception is necessary to back up the government of the protected areas and the environment protection as well as to support the economic development of the mountain regions.

At the meeting was defined that nature destruction, lack of environmental consciousness, excessive use of natural recourses and forests felling are among the major problems of the environmental protection efforts in the mountain regions.

�Central element of this conception should be the human factor and the problems of the people who live in this regions. There are many legal papers regarding the man as an enemy of the nature. The conception had to offer balanced co-existence. Nature not to be protected from the man but man to protect the nature�, Stoyan Iotov from �Borrowed Nature� association said.

�Activities to prevent the clear felling of woods need to be placed into the Conception. The reforestation will engage many of the local people and will improve their attitude to the nature�, proposed Stoyan Hristov from The Regional municipality association �Central Balkans�.

The meeting outlined other problems too. Among them are people�s migration from the mountain region and population decrease, underdeveloped agriculture and tourism, poor application of the legal frame, bad infrastructure and economic.

The work group will seek some possible solutions of the problems like legislation changes, partnership between the authorities and the NGOs, addressing donors. The participants reached the idea of establishment of a Common Fund for small grants for the mountain regions, which may finance projects, both economic and environmental.

�A trade mark �Produced in a mountain region� could be created to stimulate the local initiative�, proposed Petko Tsvetkov from �Pirin Mountain Project� of the Bulgarian-Swiss Biodiversity Conservation Programme.

Regional mountain tourist services to be provided and recreated was another proposal made by Tony Mileva from The Nature Park �Vratsa Balkan� administration.

Organic agriculture and alternatives of the traditional farming may be very important for mountain region development, the work group considered. The education in sustainable development of the local inhabitants and their participation in the development process are essential so the mountain municipalities will be involved in the Conception building too.

Next meeting of the work group on the Conception on mountain regions development will be held in September, BULMONTANA�s president Atanas Krynchev announced. Exchange of regional experience in this area is welcome, the participants in the meeting agreed.