site.btaWWF Demands Cessation of Felling in Old Forests

WWF Demands Cessation of Felling in Old Forests

Sofia, January 19 (BTA) - Felling in the established complexes of old forests should stop until specific measures for their protection are adopted, the World Wide Fund for Nature's (WWF) Bulgarian office proposed. In a letter to Deputy Agriculture and Food Minister Georgi Kostov, a copy of which has also been sent to the directors of state enterprises and the University of Forestry Rector, the international environmental organization calls for the priority protection of around 21,000 ha of centuries-old forests. The State can guarantee their conservation by including them in the planned zones for the protection of old forests on 10 per cent of the area of forest habitats in Natura 2000.

"Our proposal is prompted by the fact that part of the plantations were already in use during the research period, which leads to an irreparable loss of their characteristics as forests at the old-growth stage. The total area of the plantations we have researched is 21,000 ha. They are owned by the State and contain a significant biological and genetic diversity," said Neli Doncheva, Forest Programme head at WWF Bulgaria, as quoted on the organization's website. "The protection of these forest ecosystems on which humans have had little impact, will allow the State and society to give the future generations the last remains of the Great Bulgarian Forest (Magna Silva Bulgarica), legends of which have been preserved since the Middle Ages," she added.

As part of their efforts to conserve old forests, WWF Bulgaria propose the organization of a public debate where the State can present the measures it has taken in this direction, with the participation of a wide circle of interested parties.

The press release recalls that in the last three years, WWF and its partners researched the centuries-old forests in the Balkan Range, Sredna Gora and the Rhodopes, and established the location of the last preserved samples of forest ecosystems on which humans have had little impact, found outside the protected territories.

The collected information from the research was presented to the Agriculture and Food Ministry. Given the process' significance, a request was lodged on November 17, 2015, for access to public information on the state of the procedure for determining zones of old-growth forests in Natura 200 and the possibility for public consultations. Thus far, no reply has been received to the questions and proposals made.