Operation The 11 Nature Park Directorates are part of the forestry authority in Bulgaria and as such they are subsidiary to the Executive Forestry Agency, which is part of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. The Nature Parks’ functions are mainly focused on nature conservation and the sustainable use of resources to support local development and livelihoods based on protected nature – pro-biodiversity businesses, ecotourism, etc. Apart from the restrictions that apply to all Nature Parks (e.g. a ban on clearcutting), depending on the specific Nature Park’s designated objectives and specific ecosystems, particular working aims for management must be defined in a Management Plan - however, only 8 out of the 11 Nature Parks have established Management Plans .
Financing Nature Parks are designated following the preparation of proposal documentation (so far, proposals have come mainly from NGOs and in some cases from municipal authorities and academic institutions). The proposal is then validated and the decision on designation made by the Minister for Environment and Water. The Nature Parks’ budget is centrally allocated, as part of the funding for the Executive Forestry Agency within the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. Any revenue generated by the Nature Park Directorates goes to the central budget of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. All Nature Parks are beneficiaries of the Operational Programme Environment and recent years have seen significant political pressure in respect
of the staffing of Nature Parks, due to the level of interest in managing the large Operational Programme Environment budgets. Nature Parks were all members of the Association of Parks in Bulgaria until 2014, when some of the Directorates were forced by the central authority to leave the Association, as APB is sometimes seen as an opposition to some of the management decisions of the Executive Forestry Agency.
Successful Projects Biodiversity conservation Some key successful Nature Park projects involve biodiversity conservation. Important reintroduction results have been achieved for vultures, Balkan chamois and the European ground squirrel. Various species of flora have been the subject of conservation and restoration activities in Nature Parks, e.g. orchid habitats, forest, shrub and meadow habitats. As part of the Bulgarian WWF’s project for “Conservation and Restoration of 11 Natura 2000 Riparian and Wetland Habitats in 10 SCI’s Bulgarian Forests”, the conservation status of 10 Natura 2000 sites within Nature Parks has been improved through the conservation and restoration of 11 riparian and wetland habitats in forests.
Eco-tourism Most of the parks concentrate on developing eco-tourism activities. For example, Vrachanski Balkan Nature Park has 14 discovery trails covering various themes related to the nature and culture of the local area, with educational and information infrastructure (signs, shelters, recreational facilities, bridges and steps).
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