A second home in Bulgaria?
Around 23 000 new-built apartments South of Sunny beach are looking for buyers. This showed data of the ...
Posted by Yanko on 2008-04-01
Don’t destroy nature, if you wish good economy, says the Dane from the Green group in the Euro parliament.
The Dane Margarette Auken is a deputy from the Green group/a European free alliance in the European parliament. She is a member of the petition commission, the commission of development and commission of environment and public health and food safety. In the end of the week miss Auken visited Bulgaria, where she met representatives of nongovernmental organizations and citizen eco-movements. In Saturday the euro deputy went to Rila to see closer the mountain, that the business wants to turn into mega resort with dozens of ski paths and equipment. In the moment there are eight projects for ski resorts in Rila, part of which are in the excluded from Natura 2000 zone Rila buffer and even in the protected area of the national park.
One of the most big projects of the Sofia firm Rila Sport is for ski resort Panichishte - The lakes, (which will extend from Panichishte to Kabul peak in an immediate closeness to the Seven Rila lakes). At first the route of Margarette Auken had to start from Panichishte, where from months are continuing the illegal buildings of road and lift, invading the territory of the National park. Informed for the intentions of the environmentalists, from the Sapareva Bania municipality have organized a contra-protest in defense of the future ski resort. The protest gathered a few thousand people from the region, but there wasn’t a crash, because the route of the euro deputy was changed.
“The tourists came in Bulgaria because of the beautiful nature. But if you turn everything into a big swamp, they will stop coming. May be what will be left is that part of the tourism, in which you go to taverns and drink, but this is not very good for the country.”- said Margarette Auken on a meeting with the media, organized by “For the earth” eco-movement. “Yesterday I saw that there are plans (for ski resorts), not only in Rila buffer, but inside the sanctuary. I don’t know for what kind of ski resorts we are talking about, because for the changes in the climate, which are at hand now, this is not the smartest investment, which I have seen. You destroy the nature and with that you won’t have a development of the ski resorts.” – added miss Auken in an answer of journalist question. “What happens here can not be called even capitalism. It is a very bad capitalism, when you start loosing valuable things.” – said more she and underlined that if Bulgaria wants to go further she must rely on its own strengths.
- Is there other country-member of the European union, which treats its nature in that way?
- We have had big problems with that capitalism of the Wild West, in Spain we had serious problems, too. But what I have learned here for the gold extraction, together with the construction of nuclear power station in a seismic zone, if you gather all these things you’re in a very bad position.
- In many regions of the country the local people want big resorts to be build, thinking that they will win from this. How they can be convinced that nature reservation is worthy?
- If you want a good economy, you shouldn’t destroy the nature. Because the money that are made in that way, are very quick money, and after that the possibilities disappear. I think that many of the local people are clear with that. The question is in that the government should develop modern industries. If, for example, it is investing in renewable energy sources, in raising the energy effectivity of buildings and so on, there also will be opened many work places. For such sort of activities it is not hard to find money from the European Union. It is a steady way for creating a job. From what I have seen yesterday, the construction don’t give the local people a job and money. The constructers come from outside, they are building, leaving the local people without nature, without nothing. And turning Rila into a swamp is so sad.
- How can be won from nature, without harming it?
- If you have a steady agriculture economy, for example. You have a very good possibilities for growing vegetables, you are not in the Scandinavian countries. And I think that the modern technologies can be applied in the distant regions. Things like education, health system also are very important. Because if you loose that part of caring for people, you will stay poor, even if there are very rich people.
- You have negative impressions from our court system…
- What scandalize me is how your court system is not working. This is non acceptable. You need courts, which are neutral, on which can be counted. This is not Europe, you understand. I think that this problem must be decided very soon and very strictly.
- Will we save Rila to a certain extent?
- You are here and you are representing the media. And the media in that particular case are very important players. And in accordance with the conventions, which are accepted here, you have access to the permissions, which are given. The non governmental organizations also have permission. That is why you have to say what happens quicker. Who makes it? We can stop some projects, but part of your democracy is to mobilize the people. People must have the feeling, that somebody cares and somebody gives voice of their fears, because the main job must be done by the Bulgarians themselves. Make it visible, make it to be heard, so these from the government to be afraid from the people. This is democracy.
* In the material are included questions from other media