IPS.NET: Bulgaria Going Down a Slippery Slope

ENVIRONMENT: Bulgaria Going Down a Slippery Slope
By Claudia Ciobanu

BUCHAREST, Mar 3 (IPS) - The World Ski Cup for women last weekend was
organised in Bulgaria at a ski resort whose development is partially
illegal, and which is damaging a world heritage site.

A report published by the Save Pirin Coalition and endorsed by several
environmental organisations in Bulgaria claims that the development of the
Bansko Ski Zone has severely damaged the Pirin National Park, one of the
two United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
(UNESCO) world heritage sites located in Bulgaria. Bansko is a recently
expanded and modernised ski resort in south-western Bulgaria, 160 km from
capital Sofia in the Pirin mountains.

Measurements made by experts from Save Pirin, and information provided by
the management of the Pirin Park show that construction has been carried
out on 247 hectares of land instead of the 99 hectares for which the
developers received authorisation from the Bulgarian Ministry of
Environment and Water in 2001. Furthermore, Save Pirin claims that
environmental impact assessment agreements have been breached.

The authors of the report argue that around 1,000 hectares have been
modified for construction of ski slopes and associated transport and
living infrastructure. Intense excavation and massive deforestation have
led to the washing away of soil layers and the emergence of huge crevices.
Natural habitat has been fragmented, and species like the brown bear have
been driven from their usual locations.

Asked whether they had looked into environmentalists" claims of
illegalities when choosing Bansko as a location for the world cup,
International Ski Federation (FIS) representative Riika Rakic told IPS
that "the FIS helped the Bulgarian Ski Association and the local
organisers at the resort engage an environmental advisor to assess the
situation and develop long-term strategies in this area."

Suspicions of past illegalities did not affect the choice of location
because "FIS relies on its members to ensure that they respect and comply
with all national regulations and legislations in all their activities."

The development has been controversial for some time. The European Bank
for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was earlier an investor in
Bansko; it owned a share in the Bulgarian First Investment Bank, the
institution which coordinated all investments in Bansko. But after
complaints from environmentalists and from UNESCO, EBRD sold its share in
the First Investment Bank in December 2006.

The Bulgarian Ski Association, the FIS partner in charge of the Bansko
event, is run by Tseko Minev, who is also the main shareholder in the
Bulgarian First Investment Bank.

Minev, who was in 2007 the third richest man in Bulgaria, has repeatedly
expressed support for development of another ski resort in the Vitosha
National Park, close to capital Sofia. Bulgaria hopes to organise the
Winter Olympics in the next decade, and Vitosha would be needed to
complement the facilities in Bansko.

Development of the Vitosha Ski resort has been marred by controversy from
the outset. "The Vitosha Ski Company is 90 percent owned by an offshore
company, Elora Management Ltd, registered on the British Virgin Islands,
and one of the serious problems is that it is completely unclear who is
behind the company and what is the source of the money," Katerina Rakovska
from the World Wildlife Fund Danube Carpathian Programme (WWFDCP) told
IPS. "As we all know, lack of transparency is the mother of corruption."

As the skiers in the Friday race were sliding down the slopes of Bansko,
the centre of Sofia was filling up with people protesting the decision to
fire three directors of national parks (Vitosha, Strandja and Vrachanski
Balkan). On Friday morning, Bulgarian media had quoted an opposition claim
that the directors would be fired soon because of their resistance to
construction in the parks.

Many Bulgarians were excited over the skiing event, in the categories of
downhill and Super G (super-giant) in the 2009 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup;
the country has not been on the world ski cups schedule since 1984. The
organisation of the cup was indication that the country is able to offer
up to standard tourism and sports facilities.

Tourism has traditionally played a major role in Bulgarian development.
Before 1989, the Black Sea coast was a popular destination for summer
tourists from countries east of the Berlin Wall, gaining it the nickname
"the Red Riviera". Post-socialist governments have continued to focus on
tourism infrastructure development, both on the coast and in the
mountains. With prices still low for Western tourists, Bulgaria was able
to attract close to two million foreign visitors in just the first half of
2008 (Bulgaria"s own population is seven million).

The cash inflows from the tourism industry are certainly welcome for
Bulgaria, the poorest country in the European Union. Bulgarians themselves
enjoy the new opportunities for sports and entertainment, although prices
in resorts like Bansko are too high for many.

The Bulgarian Ski Federation is currently training 3,000 Bulgarian
children free of charge, in an attempt to popularise the sport and breed
future champions. No Bulgarian woman has yet won a World Cup event.

But Bulgarian environmentalists are now worried by the environmental cost
of these plans. Far from trying to contain the damage, they fear
developers in Bansko will continue to expand their reach inside the
National Parks. (END/2009)