site.btaBern Convention Authority Says Struma Motorway Should Bypass Kresna Gorge Altogether

The Standing Committee of the Bern Convention adopted a decision on Friday urging Bulgaria to make sure that the Struma Motorway, with both its carriageways, bypasses the Kresna Gorge to avoid harming its rich wildlife. The meeting of the Standing Committee was attended by a Bulgarian government delegation and claimant NGOs.

When completed, the 170 km Struma Motorway will run most of the way from the Bulgarian capital Sofia to the Kulata crossing on the border with Greece.

At its meeting, the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention (Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats) adopted a report on Bulgaria’s progress in building the Kresna Gorge section of the motorway. An opinion of NGOs was also presented at the meeting. They insist that diverting traffic from the gorge is essential, the Bulgarian Environment Ministry said in a press release.

The Committee approved an agreement with the European Commission (EC) about the remaining steps until the motorway is completed.

The Environment Ministry press release says that both the EC and the governing authority of the Bern Convention acknowledge that all future steps should take account of administrative decisions while at the same time ensuring the protection of the habitats and the species affected by the project. Following Friday’s decision of the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention, construction of the eastern carriageway of the Kresna Gorge section of the Struma Motorway can begin shortly, with traffic to be diverted from the gorge itself, which will reduce the pressure on wildlife.

The Standing Committee recommends activating the dialogue with the interested parties and getting them involved in the next stages of the project. This will ensure that the considerations about protecting habitats and species will be reckoned with, the Environment Ministry explained.

Based on the NGOs’ claim, the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention recommended that concurrently with the building of the eastern carriageway, which will carry traffic from Kulata to Sofia and will bypass the Kresna Gorge, studies should be conducted to see how the other carriageway (from Sofia to Kulata) can be built in parallel to the eastern one with a minimal risk to habitats and species in protected areas. This means that the construction of the Kresna Gorge section should involve building two new carriageways, and the existing road running through the gorge should remain as a supplementary route, the Environment Ministry said.

Commenting on the Ministry’s press release later on Friday, an environmental organization called For the Nature said the Bern Convention Standing Committee’s decision means that the option of building one carriageway on the east of the gorge and another one through the gorge (by upgrading the existing road) should be dropped definitively.