Conservation of species and habitats in Bulgaria the process of selection SCI NGO support to the MoEW in establishing NATURA2000

Transcription

1 Conservation of species and habitats in Bulgaria the process of selection SCI NGO support to the MoEW in establishing NATURA2000 Andrey Kovatchev Natura 2000 Expert, BALKANI Wildlife Society, Bulgaria

2 Directive 92/43 Article 4, subparagraph 1: Each Member State propose a list of sites which host natural habitat types in Annex I and the places which present the physical or biological factors essential for the life and reproduction of species in Annex II Criteria in Annex III Stage 1 Designation process (prior accession) Annex I habitat: representativity; area in the site/within the country; conservation of the structure and functions; global assessment of the value of the site. Annex II species: population (size and density) of the in the site/within the country; conservation habitat s features and restoration possibilities; isolation of the population present on the site in relation to the natural range; global assessment of the value of the site.

3 DEPA project - Green Balkans Federation NGO in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Waters Budget: Euro Non systematic approach field inventories of preliminary identified territories (CORINE Biotops Sites, protected areas, expert opinion) on 12.5% of the countries territory Lack of division between pscis and pspas. Inventory without mapping filling Standard Data Forms (SDFs) on expert opinion base very, very inaccurate!!! At the end based on best expert opinion identified as potential NATURA 2000 sites on 34% of the countries territory. 16 % of them studied.

4 CORINE Biotops project Other territories Non protected territories Nature Parks National Parks Natural Reserves

5 Map of potential NATURA 2000 sites at the end of % of the country s territory studied by the end of Jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhkkkk hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh 34% of the country s territory coverage of all potential sites.

6 Division of work on the designation of pscis Projects financed by Bulgarian Government: for inventory of pscis and coordination of this action with other projects: Green Balkans Federation NGO, budget: EURO Projects of NGOs: Contribution of other projects with international financing overall more than EURO

7 Project of NGO coalition NATURA 2000 in Bulgaria public contribution, PIN MATRA Projects of WWF DCP in Danube basin GEF project Conservation of globally important biodiversity in the Rhodope landscape Project Prime Butterfly Areas of Butterfly Conservation Europe (Wageningen) and National Natural History Museum, PIN MATRA program Project of Forestry Institute of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Inventory and strategy for protection of old growth forests in Bulgaria, PIN MATRA Development of Brown bear action plan, coordinated by BALKANI Wildlife Society, PIN MATRA and BBI MATRA Development of Chamois Action Plan: , implemented by Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation Project of Bulgarian Academy of Sciences on new Bulgarian Red Data Book A number of smaller projects

8 Inventory methods Mapping of grasslands: mapping of existing digital polygons CORINE Biotops, scale 1: , only part of the pscis, modeling needed Mapping of forests: using existing forest inventories scale 1: 5 000; algorithms to transfer them to NATURA 2000 habitats; 90% of the whole country s territory Mapping of river habitats: assessed as ine objects (length), % of stretches occupied by a habitat, part of the country s territory

9 Inventory methods Mapping of species Presence/absence: field mapping of exact localities or good recent literature data (geographic coordinates)/ versus old and inexact data lit. data mapping of wider polygons from CORINE Land cover Localities: suitable only for species with discrete distribution colonies, inhabiting discrete limited area habitats etc. For others omission mistake!!!

10 Inventory methods Mapping of species Models of suitable habitats (aim to avoid omission mistake): Inductive statistically derived algorithms; in presence of sufficient and representative presence or presence/absence data, statistically validated Deductive based on expert opinion and algorithms, could be statistically validated (preferred)

11 Inventory methods Mapping of species Verification is not validation!!! Models - verification Verification for real population by: Real distribution of the species: real field data Real population: could less then potential natural and anthropogenic influences, only from real field data

12 Simplified methods Number of locations Number of UTM grids (distribution, localities) Area of distribution (as polygon) Population assesments Relative population assessments: modeling and extrapolations, field extrapolations (transect methods) Total population: rarely achieved, very comprehensive data needed, capture recapture, total counting, mostly for rare species Population units: individuals (all, mature, colonies, inhabited trunks of trees etc.)

13 Selection of sites Expert opinion: fastest, most unsuitable lack of systematic approach Systematic approach based on preliminary mapping: 1. Selection of best areas/localities for particulars species or habitat 2. First selection of most diverse areas (number of protected species and habitats in one place) Real life is always mixture of approach 1 and 2

14 Selection of sites big vs. small sites Large sites: Representative High quality criterion Small number Less administration, simple management, low administrative costs Buffer zones included Administratively fragmented: Artificially unrepresentative big number administration costly management difficult Small sites: unrepresentative, big number administration costly, management difficult, no buffer zones, large edge effects and impacts, impacts from outside not under control Buffer zones included

15 Large sites: Shadow list - missing site bigger gap and problem for government better chances to achieve final adoption Art. 6 (3) Assessment difficult to show significance of the impact necessary to have in to account local impact Selection of sites big vs. small sites E Excluding: holes where no habitat type/ species has been found omitting private property wherever possible traffic facilities E Small sites: Shadow list - missing site smaller problem for government smaller chances to achieve final adoption of all sites Art. 6 (3) Assessment easer to show significance of the impact E0 6210

16 Till October submitted scientific proposals for pscis covering 35% of country s land territory October November working group initiated by NGOs: Participants NGOs, key experts, Ministry of Environment and Waters, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Tasks: to complete sufficient scientific list of pscis according to the criteria of Stage 2 Results Optimization of submitted documentation to 225 sites occupying 28,6 % of country s land territory

17 Comparison - version 20 October (35%) and version 20 November (28,6%) NGOs submitted proposals - Green Balkans Federation, BALKANI Wildlife Society, WWF DCP Bulgaria, Center for Environmental Information and Education, Association of Parks

18 2007 Political process of designation of NATURA 2000 network Delayed decision of the Council of Ministers The decision on list of pscis and pspas is made on 15 February 2007 one and a half months after EU accession date The decision is made available to public on 5 March The decision is to cut both list of sites leading to drastic insufficiencies in both lists. The decision is justified on purely economic grounds. It stipulates future exclusion from borders of SPAs and SACs of all areas with development demands and spatial plans appeared to date of issuing of designation order.

19 List of pscis excluded (red) and adopted (green)

20 Every week protests for NATURA 2000 in front of the Council of Ministers Political umbrella 2007 Soap opera Coins to pay EU sanctions Species left outside of NATURA 2000

21 2007 Number of other street protest for protection of NATURA sites and against different threats Campaign within government letters, position papers, meetings with Ministers Written statements and submission in Brussels, meetings with representatives of EU Commission and with the European Commissioner Stavros Dimas (April 2007)(with support of international networks) - network so week that even biogeographical seminar could not be started After 1 year of an NGO campaign almost all proposed sites adopted in December 2007 and submitted in EU SPAs and pscis

22 hhhh Overlapping between pscis (28,6) and SPAs (23,4) together 34,5% hhhhhhhhhhhhhgggggggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhh

23 2007 Political process of designation of NATURA 2000 network Final differences scientific proposal political decision (despite 1 year delay) pscis missing site Rila buffer question left to be decided by the biogeographical seminars

24 Thank you for your attention Andrey Kovatchev BALKANI Wildlife Society