PROTECTING OUR PLANET STARTS WITH YOU!
We all can make the effort… to reduce, reuse and recycle, to conserve water and energy, to help others understand the importance of our natural resources, to use less plastic, to volunteer in our communities…
Good to know:
Protected areas in Bulgaria cover all parks, reserves, landmarks and protected areas. The policy for maintenance and management of the protected territories is implemented by the Ministry of Environment and Water.
National parks in Bulgaria are protected areas defined by the Law on Protected Areas in Bulgaria. They are state-owned and do not include settlements, and ecosystems are entirely of natural origin and with a great diversity of plant and animal species and habitats. There are 3 national parks in Bulgaria with a total area of 193,000 hectares – Central Balkans, Pirin and Rila. According to the Protected Areas Act in Bulgaria, the following activities are prohibited in the national parks: clear-cutting, hunting and game breeding, production activities and construction, except for tourist shelters and huts and repair of existing buildings, collection of rare, endemic, relict and protected species, except for scientific purposes, collection of fossils and minerals, damage to rock formations, import of plant and animal species not peculiar to the region.
There are 11 natural parks in Bulgaria with a total area of 256,441.4 ha or 2.31% of the country’s territory. The Law on Protected Areas in Bulgaria in nature parks prohibits the following activities: open-air mining; collection of rare, endemic, relict and protected species, except for scientific purposes, collection of fossils and minerals, damage to rock formations, import of non-native plant and animal species, etc.
Reserves in Bulgaria are protected areas in which samples of natural ecosystems are preserved, including characteristic or remarkable plant and animal species and their habitats. They are exclusively state property. There are 55 reserves in Bulgaria with a total area of 77,124.05 ha. About 72% of the area of the reserves in Bulgaria are within the boundaries of national and nature parks. All activities other than their protection, scientific visits, collection of seed, wild plant and animal species for scientific purposes only or their restoration in other places in quantities, ways and time that exclude disturbances in ecosystems are prohibited.
Protected areas are a category of protected areas in Bulgaria. As of the end of 2017, 565 protected areas with a total area of 79,304.4 ha have been established. Areas with remarkable landscapes, including those positively affected by man, habitats of endangered and rare species of animals and plants, and biocenoses are declared as such. Activities contrary to the requirements for protection of the specific objects subject to protection are prohibited in the areas.