site.btaForest Logging Exceeded Planting in 2006-2012, Land Cover Observation Project Shows

ESD 15:54:00 27-11-2014
DD1553ES.115
115 ENVIRONMENT - EARTH COVER - PROJECT

Forest Logging Exceeded Planting in 2006-2012,
Land Cover Observation Project
Shows


Sofia, November 27 (BTA) - More Bulgarian forest was cleared
than planted between 2006 and 2012, according to Anton Stoimenov
of the Space Research and Technology Institute with the
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

The Institute is a subcontractor of the CORINE Land Cover 2012
project. The observation is part of an international project and
is done by the Executive Environment Agency (ExEA) with support
from the EU and the Copernicus Programme. Its aim is to monitor
and register changes in forest, water and agricultural areas,
pastures and anthropogenic sites. The survey is done once every
six years and shows the changes in the country's land cover on a
digital map, the Agency's Executive Director Vanya Grigorova
told a news conference.

Experts on biodiversity and ecosystem services will find the
data useful due to their high precision, said Borislava
Borislavova, Coordinator of CORINE Land Cover 2012. The data
will be available to all users on the ExEA website.

Answering a question, Stoimenov said that 37 hectares of prime
deciduous forest was cleared for the construction of a
22-kilometre stretch to the Tsankov Kamak hydropower project
between 2006 and 2012. Massive logging was registered in Pleven,
Lovech and Mt Pirin.

No change was registered in water areas in the 2006-2012 period,
which is good for biodiversity, said Borislavova. Solar parks
were built on a considerable area. During the reference period,
1,075 ha of pastures were converted into artificial areas by
human activity (construction, buildings, landfills), and 620 ha
of pasture land was converted into agricultural land.

Stoimenov said that agricultural land consolidation had been
observed since 2000. Also, rice-growing was revived in the
regions of Plovdiv, Pazardjik, Stara Zagora and Yambol. PK/DD

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