Tsarevo Municipality Demands New Procedure to Set Boundaries of Strandja Park

Tsarevo Municipality (Southeastern Bulgaria) demanded a new procedure and commission to set the boundaries of the Standja nature park, located on its area, Tsarevo Municipality Major Perko Arnaoudov told a news conference Tuesday.

The news conference was called in a bid to clear the situation vis-a-vis the park after a three-member panel of the Supreme Administrative Court declared on June 29 null and void an order of the Environment and Waters Minister which, pursuant to the Nature Protection Act, declared the Strandja park on an area of 116,136 ha. The decision is appealable before a higher instance court but actually spells a possibility for construction and development in the park.

Environmentalists stages protests rallies shortly after the court announces its ruling. On Monday evening they blocked for half an hour a busy junction in Sofia without having the required preliminary permit for a rally and the police detained 35 protesters.

The Environment and Waters Ministry said already on Friday that it will appeal the ruling.

Sources from Tsarevo Municipality, which started the legal case, proposed also putting an end to the legal dispute as, according to them, the court ruling does not eradicate the park but causes a need for a new procedure to set its boundaries. In addition, the decision has not yet entered into force. The mayor and his team said that in their petition to the court they have not stated they did not want the park, but insisted on clearly marked boundaries. The case concerns the development of several population centres in the area and private interests.

The park contains farm land of about 40,000 ha, which is suggested to be excluded from its territory.

The municipality mulls suspending issuing of construction permits until the legal case is settled.

The National Union of Hunters and Fishermen took a stand against the court ruling while the Green Party voiced support to the protest rallies against the decision. The Strandja park was discussed at a meeting Tuesday between Sofia Mayor Boiko Borissov and representatives of an environmentalist organization.

BTA