site.btaDecember 28, 2007: Environment Minister Orders Establishment of Belasitsa Nature Park

Belasitsa Nature Park covers the northern slopes of the Belasitsa Mountain in Southwestern Bulgaria. Belasitsa is part of the European ecological network NATURA 2000 and is managed by the Belasitsa Nature Park Directorate, under the authority of the Executive Forest Agency of the Agriculture and Food Ministry.

The nature park is bordered to the west by North Macedonia and to the south by Greece, both of which contain regions of the Belasitsa Mountain.

According to the Belasitsa Nature Park Directorate, around 1200 plant species, around 1500 species of invertebrates and approximately 180 species of vertebrates have been discovered in the mountain, including Bulgarian and Balkan endemytes. Some of the plant species protected in the forest include common beech, common chestnut, common yew, European holly, Heldreich's maple, Albanian lily, and Medicago carstiensis. Some of the protected animals are white-backed woodpecker, black woodpecker, Orpheus warbler, and small olive tree Warbler.

Following is the original English-language coverage by BTA on the establishing of the new nature park, published on December 22, 2007 and the efforts to make the mountain a sustainable tourism destination on October 5, 2009:

New Natural Park Established at Border with Greece, Macedonia

Sofia, December 22 (BTA) - A new natural park called Belasitsa will be established in Slavyanka mountain, on the border with Greece and Macedonia, the Ministry of Environment and Water information service said Saturday. The order has already been signed by Minister Djevdet Chakurov.

The new park has a total area of 11,7324 ha and, in addition to the bans provided by the Protected Areas Act, it will also be a location where the logging of the age-old trees in the park will be prohibited. The Konkoura reserve, which falls within the boundaries of the new natural park, will preserve its status.

Chakurov has also signed orders on declaring four new protected areas - Doichov Ostrov, Mourvatska Reka, Bliznatsite Islands and Gerena, as well as a natural landmark (cave and springs of Mladezhka river). LI/BR 

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Belasitsa Mountain to Become Sustainable Tourism Destination

Blagoevgrad, Southwestern Bulgaria, October 5 (BTA) - A Bulgarian - Macedonian project aimed at promoting Belasitsa, Bulgaria's newest nature park, as a sustainable tourism destination was successfully concluded, project manager Simana Markovska told BTA. The project involved the Bulgarian municipality of Petrich and the Macedonian municipality of Strumitsa and was conducted jointly by the Pirin Tourist Forum Association (Blagoevgrad), headed by Markovska, and the Planetum environmental association in Strumitsa.

The project was funded under the Phare 2005 Grant Scheme for Sustainable Development (Bulgaria and Macedonia). Its total value was 75,250 euro, 90 per cent of which were provided by the EU and the Bulgarian government and the rest was paid by the project partners themselves. The partnering organizations developed a joint transborder marketing strategy to enhance Belasitsa's potential as a sustainable tourism destination and to maintain long-term partnerships.

According to Markovska, the activities carried out during the last 18 months built upon a number of previously launched projects, aimed at promoting Belasitsa's sustainable development. Several 2007 and 2008 projects, implemented by the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation and the municipality of Petrich, prepared the grounds for this.

The development of a Belasitsa trademark and a website about the region, functioning as a virtual information centre, is under way. Various promotion materials, including an image brochure, posters, calendars and stickers, are being printed. 

According to the president of the Planetum environmental association Mitko Shopov, the cooperation with the Pirin Tourist Forum and the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation had boosted all forms of alternative tourism in the Belasitsa region. LI/IY