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Mushrooming hotels endanger Bulgarian nature-WWF

26 Feb 2007 12:49:23 GMT
Source: Reuters

SOFIA, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Bulgaria must rein in construction of hotels and resorts for its booming tourist industry to protect endangered nature reserves, conservation group WWF said on Monday.

The new European Union member's sandy Black Sea beaches and sparsely populated mountains attract millions of euros (dollars) worth of investment every year in the rush to build up resorts little developed over decades of communist rule.

Critics say rampant corruption and weak public administration mean the construction boom threatens habitats of many rare and endangered species of birds and plants.

"Bulgaria has some of the most precious nature zones in Europe, but these are being demolished ... We urge you to ... take steps to protect the natural treasures of Bulgaria," WWF said in a letter to Bulgarian authorities.

Sofia approved a plan earlier this month to include a fifth of its territory in the EU's nature conservation network Natura 2000, drawing criticism from local residents and businesses who fear the they will lose tourism revenues.

Environmentalists, however, say many protected areas were not included in the network.

Bulgaria's eastern European peer Poland is at loggerheads with the EU over a highway construction project which would cut through protected habitat in the Natura 2000 programme.

Many former Soviet satellites such as Bulgaria have a very poor environment record, struggling with a communist legacy of mammoth industries long subject to few pollution controls.

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Last updated:Mon Feb 26 12:50:52 2007