Bulgaria gives green light for construction in Strandza nature park
01 August 2008
The Bulgarian government has approved changes to a plan to develop the seaside resort of Tsarevo that would allow construction to spill over into the Strandza nature park. Despite numerous protests held by environmentalists, a panel of experts from the Ministry of Environment and Water adopted a new plan for the development at Tsarevo.
The decision has to be approved by the environment minister Dzhevdet Chakurov. The only member of the panel who voted against it was Ivan Kamburov, a representative of Strandza park. He said that the plan would reduce the territory of the park by 9,000 decares.
According to Kalin Tiholov, the head of the team that prepared the changes to the plan, only 4,800 decares will be set aside for construction. The most severe restriction that the plan imposed was a construction ban within 150 meters of the river banks in the region.
However, environmentalists have warned that the new plan threatens protected species in the region and would lead to an almost total build up of the park's coastline.