site.btaBulgarian Sites Reviewed at 47th Session of UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Paris

Pirin National Park and the European serial World Heritage site for the preservation of ancient and primeval beech forests of the Carpathians and other regions of Europe, which includes the beech forests in Bulgaria’s Central Balkan National Park, were among the agenda items discussed at the 47th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee taking place in Paris under Bulgaria's Presidency.

These sites were reviewed as part of state-of-conservation reports, and several recommendations were made.

“Attention was drawn to the fact that the new management plan for Pirin National Park has not been adopted yet, and the state is urged to take steps to adopt it in accordance with the recommendations from the previous advisory mission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),” said Miroslav Kalugerov, Director of the National Nature Protection Service Directorate at the Ministry of Environment and Water, in a statement to BTA.

According to him, Pirin National Park is currently undergoing a procedure for the adoption of its management plan. “The issue is particularly complex because the draft plan was subject to a screening procedure to determine whether a full environmental assessment was needed. That procedure has concluded, but the decision was appealed and overturned by the Supreme Administrative Court. As a result, the plan is now being revised to meet all requirements, including the recommendations of the World Heritage Committee,” he explained.

The procedure to update the management plan is currently underway. “We hope it will be ready as soon as possible. The World Heritage Committee has not set a deadline for its adoption,” said Ina Sarbakova, Chief Expert at Pirin National Park, in a statement to BTA.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee also decided to remove three sites - located in Madagascar, Egypt, and Libya - from the List of World Heritage in Danger. The decision was met with applause in the room.

These removals are the result of significant efforts made by the parties to the Convention, with the support of UNESCO, to substantially reduce the threats to these sites, as was highlighted during today’s session.

When sites are removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger, it is a major victory for everyone - for the countries and communities directly affected, for UNESCO, and more broadly, for the shared cultural and natural heritage of humanity, said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. She added that special efforts are being made for Africa - not only through training experts and facilitating new inscriptions, but also by supporting strategies to remove sites from danger, and these efforts are bearing fruit now.