Parks, Reserves, Protected Areas & Fauna in Bulgaria

1. Vocational High School of Veterinary Medicine “Prof. d-r George Pavlov”, Dobrich, Bulgaria Parks, Reserves,Protected Areas & Fauna in Bulgaria The number of protected areas in Bulgaria is 858 with a total surface of 544 394,9 ha. The degree of protection of these areas is variable and can be classified following the IUCN categories:55 Strict Reserves:strictly protected, all kinds of human activities are prohibited;3 National Parks:strictly protected, some activities permitted;346 Natural Monuments:conservation of natural formations, human activities allowed;35 Managed Reserves:human activities are permitted but only for conservation purposes;10 Natural Parks:sustainable development;402 Protected Sites:conservation of habitats and sustainable use of the natural resources

2. Bulgaria has 3 national parks:the "Pirin"National Park, the "Rila" National Parkand the"Central Balkan"National Park.These national parks have been defined as “areas without any populated areas and settlement formations within their boundaries that include natural ecosystems with a large diversity of plant and animal species and habitats, with typical and remarkable scenery and abiotic objects of nature.”

3. Parks, Reserves,Protected Areas & Fauna in Bulgaria • Protected Areas in Bulgaria The Bulgarian National Parks are managed in accordance with the ProtectedAreas Act (1998). The Act specifies that National Parks are managed with the following goals: • conserve biodiversity and protect wildlife; • develop educational and scientific activities; • promote rest and recreation, and • increase local community welfare without harming the natural habitat. • Bulgaria hasthree National Parks-Pirin, Rila and Central Balkan. They have a total area of 193,049 hectares and comprise more than one-third of all protected areas in Bulgaria. The National Parks belong to the state. They are public property. They are managed and administered by Directorates, operating under the Ministry of Environment and Waters. The Executive Agency for Environment is responsible for providing methodical guidance to the National Park Directorates for ecological monitoring and on matters of environmental quality.

4. Parks, Reserves,Protected Areas & Fauna in Bulgaria • Protected Areas Categories Parks are refuges for many rare plants and animals of national and global significance. In Bulgarian national parks, unique samples of natural habitats and elements of ecosystems are preserved within reserves.Central Balkan National Parkincludes nine Reserves - Boatin, Tsarichina, Kozya Stena, Steneto, Severen Djendem, Peeshti Skali, Sokolna, Djendema and Stara Reka.Pirin National Parkincludes two Reserves, Yulen and Bayuvi dupki-Jinjerica.Rila National Parkincludes four Reserves: Parangalitsa, Central Rila Reserve, Ibar, and Skakavitsa. • The national protected areas system has six management categories: • National Parks (3) Nature Parks (10) Reserves (55) • Maintained Reserves (35) Natural Landmarks (457) • Protected Localities (175).

6. Bulgarian Nature - Fauna Bulgaria has about 100 species of mammals. These include large carnivores such as brown bear (Ursus arctos), wolf (Canis lupus) and golden jackal (Canis aureus), as well as European wildcat (Felis silvestris), European otter (Lutra lutra), marbled polecat (Vormela peregusna peregusna) and the Balkan chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica).

7. Bulgarian Nature - Fauna • Particularly impressive is the number of bats found within Bulgaria. Some 32 of the 39 species of bats known in Europe have been discovered in Bulgaria, making Bulgaria one of the richest countries in Europe in terms of the number of species of bats. However, the rarest and most endangered of all Bulgarian mammals is the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) which once bred along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast but is now extinct as a breeding species and sadly today almost never sighted.

8. Bulgarian Birds • Bulgaria has long been renowned by ornithologists and birdwatchers for its exceptional variety of birds. Indeed over 400 species of birds have been recorded in Bulgaria. The richness of Bulgaria’s birdlife is greatly influenced by its geographic location. Bulgaria occupies a central location in the Western Palearctic region, and stands at the crossroads between Europe, Asia and the Mediterranean. Indeed Bulgaria lies along two major bird migration routes. • the Via Pontica and Via Aristotelis. The Via Pontica runs along Bulgaria’s Black Sea coastline whilst the Via Aristotelis includes the Sofia Plain and follows the course of the Struma Valley and Kresna Gorge through the mountains of south-western Bulgaria.

9. Bulgaria’s great variety of habitats, not only offer important refuelling and resting places for migrating and over-wintering birds, but they are also valuable breeding sites for numerous species of resident and summer visiting birds. Amongst Bulgaria’s most important regions for birds are: the Eastern Rodopi (Rhodope) Mountains which are renowned for their vultures and birds of prey, the Burgas (Bourgas) wetlands, the riparian forests along the valleys of coastal rivers such as the Veleka, Ropotamo, Kamchiya (Kamchia) and Batova, and lake Sreburna and the flood forests of certain Danubian islands.

10. Bulgarian Herpetofauna • Because of its mild climate, varied habitats and geographical location, Bulgaria has an abundant and very varied herpetofauna comprising 17 species of amphibians and 36 species of reptiles. • The Bulgarian herpetofauna is interesting, as the geographical location of Bulgaria means that it marks either the southern or northern boundary of distribution for many species of amphibians and reptiles. Within Bulgaria are found Bulgarian endemic subspecies of the fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra beschkovi) and Kotschy's gecko (Mediodactylus kotschyi rumelicus).

11. Bulgarian Fish Currently 217 species of fish have been recorded on Bulgarian territory, of which 194 species of fish are native to Bulgaria and 23 species of fish have been introduced. A total of 134 species of fish have been recorded in the Bulgarian part of the Black Sea, whilst more than 140 species of fish are known from inland waters such as rivers, wetlands, natural lakes and man-made reservoirs.

12. The freshwater fish of Bulgaria belong to three distinct watersheds, the Danube watershed, the Black Sea watershed and the Aegean watershed. The ichthyofauna of the Danube is very rich. In their upper courses, its tributaries run through mountainous regions, while their middle and lower courses flow through the Danubian plain. This means that they offer a range of ecological conditions which, in conjunction with their direct connection to the Danube, accounts for the great variety of fish which are found within them. By contrast, only the upper and middle courses of Aegean watershed rivers are found within Bulgarian territory, so their variety of fish is more limited. However, the Aegean watershed is renowned for its many endemic forms, which are characteristic for the Balkan Peninsula. The ichthyofauna of the Black Sea watershed is also rich in terms of number of species. It comprises two groups, fish which are permanently resident in the rivers and fish which temporarily penetrated into them from the Black Sea or coastal lakes.

13. Bulgarian Invertebrates So far some 27,000 species of invertebrate have been discovered in Bulgaria, of which over 20,000 species are insects. Currently, Bulgaria is known to have some 68 species of dragonflies and 214 species of butterflies, making it one of the richest countries in Europe for both of these groups.

14. Bulgaria also has a great variety of other invertebrates including at least 4 species of scorpions, 975 species of spiders and 445 species of molluscs, of which 111 are marine molluscs, 96 are freshwater molluscs and 238 are terrestrial molluscs. With over 20% of its territory made up of karst terrain, Bulgaria has over 5000 caves and potholes. So far, within their depths, more than 800 animal species had been recorded, including 167 troglobite and stygobite species, of which the majority are Bulgarian endemics.

15. ‘This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.’