21 new protected places were listed in the “protected area” category since the beginning of 2012, shows data from the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water regarding the management of the protected areas in the country. Along with these territories, the area of another 3 existing protected places and landmarks was enlarged.
The most emblematic one among these new protected territories is the Vesselina River locality on the grounds of Mindya and Kapinovo villages, Veliko Tarnovo district. A complex of wetlands which are habitats of many animal species, protected by the biodiversity law, can be seen there. One can also see there many natural habitats including riverside forests. This area was pronounced a protected territory on the initiative of the “For Vesselina River” association in collaboration with the WWF Danube Carpathian Programme.
Among the protected territories is the area entitled “Habitat of Aaron’s rod”, located on the land of Bulgarska Polyana village, Topolovgrad municipality. The region is rich in this protected plant, which grows well on rocky and limestone terrains as well as on soil, damaged by erosion. In 2012, the area “Habitat of serratula bulgarica plant” in Svishtov municipality in the Danubian Plain (Central Bulgaria) was also pronounced as protected. The serratulla bulgarica is a perrenial plant with a well developed lop-sided root and is threatened of extinction due to the the herds grazing in this region.
Among the newly protected areas is the habitat of Erodium absintoides Willd near the village of Logodazh, Blagoevgrad municipality (Southwestern Bulgaria). The rocky area in this district is the only habitat of the plant, which was enlisted in Bulgaria’s Red Book.
The protected area of Hrastevo near the town of Devin, situated in the Rhodope Mountain, which is a habitat of a century-old forest of the European black pine (Pinus nigra) also has good chances of sustained development. Some rare plant species such as the durmast oak , the Turkey oak (Quercus cerris), the Hungarian oak (Quercus frainetto) and the Scots elm (Ulmus glabra), grow there. With the listing of this territory as protected one, the oldest protected zone in Bulgaria was practically restored.
The natural marsh near the village of Obel (Blagoevgrad municipality) also joined the family of the protected habitats over the last few months. It is a habitat of many protected animal species including the European pond turtle (Emus orbicularis), dragonflies from the Odonata kind, etc.
A large number of the new protected habitats were included within the framework of the project entitled “Network of protected territories for plant preservation in Bulgaria”. It is executed by the Department of Biodiversity at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Waters. Its main goal is to help the protection of some unique European and world species which are threatened of extinction. Environmentalists are hoping to encourage the protection of this great biodiversity in Bulgaria.
The necessity of a new network of small protected territories for the preservation of 47 plant species is being discussed at present. All of these species are growing outside the existing protected zones included in the European network Natura 2000. A number of urgent measures need to be taken for their protection, the Bulgarian environmentalists are alarming. New measures are being taken at present for the inclusion of another 30 areas of the country within the protected zones. Currently, the total area of the protected territories in Bulgaria is 5.3% of the whole Bulgarian territory.
Source: www.bnr.bg
(08.01.2013)