page_title: Strandzha Nature Park
section_title: Threats and conservation issues
hierarchical_section_title: Strandzha Nature Park / Threats and conservation issues
caption_attribution_description: English: Sinemorec, Bulgaria - beach near Veleka river
context_page_description: Strandzha Nature Park is the largest protected area in Bulgaria spanning a territory of 1,161 square kilometres in the Strandzha Mountain in the extreme south-eastern corner of the country on the border with Turkey. It was established on 25 January 1995 to protect ecosystems and biodiversity of European importance, as well as the traditional cultural, historical and folklore heritage of the region. The altitude varies from 710 metres on Gradishte Peak to 0 metres at the Black Sea coast with average length of 50 kilometres from west to east and 20 kilometres from north to south.
  The nature park is situated in Burgas Province with two towns, Malko Tarnovo and Ahtopol, and several villages within its territory. It includes five nature reserves: Silkosiya, Sredoka, Tisovitsa, Uzunbodzhak and Vitanovo. Silkosiya is the oldest one in Bulgaria, established in 1933, and Uzunbodzhak is included in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves under the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme. The whole territory is part of the network of nature protection areas of the European Union, Natura 2000.
context_section_description: The main threat to the park comes from the uncontrolled tourist development which has plagued the Bulgarian Black Sea coast since the early 1990s. So far, the coast of the Strandzha Nature Park has remained almost intact. The most notable example is the case of the Golden Pearl hotel complex near the village of Varvara, whose construction commenced in 2006 on the territory of the part, supported by Tsarevo Municipality without ecological evaluation. After protests the construction was declared illegal later that year but the mayor of Tsarevo and the investor appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court of Bulgaria. In June 2007 the Court revoked the protected status of Strandzha Nature Park with order № 6794/29.06.2007. After mass protests the National Assembly adopted legislation prohibiting the right to appeal to court orders of the government establishing protected areas. In 2008 the Court declared the Golden Pearl hotel complex illegal and in 2012 the construction site was demolished.
  The issues regarding the development of the park's coastline remain open. The Master Plan of Tsarevo Municipality adopted in 2008 and approved by the Ministry of Environment and Water envisages the construction of vacation complexes with 75,000 beds on the territory of the park and Natura 2000 network. As a result, the European Commission launched an infringement procedure against Bulgaria that forced the Ministry to withdraw the positive environmental assessment of the Master Plan in 2010 but the decision was rejected by the Supreme Administrative Court. The Strandzha Nature Park Management Plan drafted in 2003 has not yet meet with approval by the Ministry of Environment and Water.
caption: The coastline of the park near Sinemorets
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