Varna tourists call on the Bulgarian Union of Tourists to take a stand in protection of Rila against the ski resort 'Panichishte-the Lakes-Kabul'

Open Letter

Written by the mountain guides and tourists of Varna, through the medium of Echo Newspaper, and sent to the BTU (Bulgarian Union of Tourists)

With June coming near, we observe an increasingly heated debate and protests for and against the Panichishte- the Lakes- Kabul project. In this regard, there is a conflict of interests between the inhabitants of Sapareva Banya, Dupnitsa and the surrounding area, and individuals who put great effort into preserving natural resources. In its morning block, BTV broadcast the protest of the citizens of Separeva Banya who, along with their mayor, were trying to persuade us that the project would have no negative externality on Rila National Park. One of the participants was even willing to take us to Mount Kabul, in order to show us how bare the hillside is, and that the construction of ski runs could not possibly cause any further damages. But she did not even mention the fact that, in order to get there, one has to pass through century-old white fir and pine-tree forests, and the ecosystem which they are being part of. The mayor of Separeva Banya was persuading us, the audience, that the planned ski runs would be constructed on an already denuded area due to existing fire-precautionary tracks. He also kept it to himself that those tracks are up to 20 meters wide, and to make it safe for skiing, one has to operate ski runs of 40 to 50 meters width.

We, the mountain guides and tourists of Varna, are well-acquainted with the issue at hand, and strongly disapprove of such statements, obviously misleading public opinion. Rila National Park is the second Bulgarian Park that has a Pan Parks certificate. That we consider a great accomplishment, for Bulgaria is the only country that was honored with two such certificates. Should we wait for help again from the members of the Pan Parks Organization, who are aware of the current situation and have already filed a complaint with the European Commission? The lack of both clear stand and action on the part of the Bulgarian Tourist Union is staggering. Aren’t we, the tourists, supposed to take the initiative, even before the ecologists, to protect our own national treasure? We know that international organizations acknowledge how breath-taking Bulgarian nature is, but people do destroy it. Rila could lose its certificate because of the project, and that would be a pity.

Pan Parks makes it possible for the growth of the tourism industry. Moreover, it is the population, and not any domestic or foreign offshore companies, that reaps the benefits from such activities. We understand that it is hard to fight against monetary power but we nevertheless expect the management team of the BTU to state explicitly which side it is going to take, and what it plans on doing in order to save the habitat in Rila.

The open letter has been approved at the meeting of mountain guides and tourists in Varna on May 20th, 2008.