The Prime-Minister is offered a proposal for the solution of the swapped forests problem

The ecologists propose to the government the following way out of this situation:

- As regards swapped forests for which the procedure for changing the purpose of the property has not been completed and the forests have not been set under regulation with a view to being built-up – to ban for ever this possibility by an amendment to the National Law on Forests.

- As regards properties the purpose of which has already been swapped but these latter have not yet been built-up – to ban construction activities therein by an amendment to the Territorial Planning Law whereby admitting only their use for green areas in the populated places and village settlements.

- As regards properties the purpose of which has already been swapped and where construction has begun – to wait for the decision of the European Commission and to initiate a procedure for reimbursement of the aid as per the order and procedure of the Law on State Aid.

According to the “For the Nature” Coalition the state must inspect whether the purpose of the swapped forests has been changed by the law and if not – to get the culprits penalized.

The ecologists remind that the scheme for forest swaps was used in order to make certain investors capable of obtaining cheap terrains for construction along the Black Sea coast and in the skiing resorts regions.

Contacts:
- Konstantin Ivanov, WWF, tel. 02/9505040

Translation: Prolet Ilieva