For WWF Bulgaria, freeing rivers of barriers, which bar the migration of fish and are among the major causes of loss of habitat, is an exceptional priority. Bulgaria needs to rethink its policy on issuing licenses for small hydropower plants. The problems caused by these power plants are almost always incommensurately bigger than the economic benefits. In addition to the arguable economic expediency, these sites cause damages to nature, which often threatens its existence, since small hydropower plants in most cases dry up river beds and turn most beautiful rivers into deserts.
Another important issue is the production of inert materials from the rivers. This production causes problems for nature, as well as for public infrastructure. Digging river beds not only destroys life there, but leads to undermining bridges, embankments and drying up of agricultural lands by the rivers. With this year’s amendments to the Water Act, the removing of alluviums from water sites was prohibited, with the exception of the Danube river and water storage sites, and also when this is imperative for maintaining the flow in the river bed. The amendments gave hope that Bulgarian institutions take a modern approach regarding the issues arising from production of inert materials in rivers. The same approach needs to be adopted in the new river basins management plans.
WWF Bulgaria will follow the process of preparation of the new management plans of the rivers, and will insist on adequate measures, that will protect this public resource. Recently, more than 10,000 people requested protection of the rivers in Bulgaria within the framework of the campaign “Contribute to the history of the rivers.”
The deadline for sending written opinions on the draft plans is June 1, 2016. For more information, follow the site wwf.bg. A useful tool in the preparation of the opinions could be WWF Bulgaria’s Geographic informational system of rivers.
What is happening with Bulgarian rivers in the next five years?
