Rila Monastery Nature Park Management Plan - part - usaid

February 2004
According to data from a survey of the local population, one-third (1,800 to 2,000
people) from the population of the communities around RMNP (the villages of
Pastra, Stob and Padala) collect in the territory of RMNP at least one, often more of
these natural products: wild-growing fruits, herbs and medicinal plants, or
mushrooms, most often for personal use (insignificant quantities of mushrooms and
snails are also collected for sale). In none of the communities surveyed is there an
operational buying station for natural products; this to a large extent determines the
fact that such resources are extracted predominantly for personal and household
needs. As of now, the closest buying station for wild-grown natural resources is in
Blagoevgrad. In actuality, current extraction practices affect a territory that is in the
immediate vicinity, yet outside the Park perimeter (gathering is done mostly on foot,
covering average distances of 15 km). Between 1/3 and 2/3 of all gatherers enter the
Park when collecting natural resources.
The widest spread practices are the collecting of wild-growing fruits and medicinal
plants (herbs); average quantities vary from about 1 kilogram of herbs to ca. 10 kg. of
fruit per person per outing. During the entire year 2001, the following quantities were
extracted from the Park territory: 3,624 kg. of raspberry, 1,497 kg. of rose hip, 1,152
kg. of bilberry, ca. 480 kg. of medicinal plants, ca. 600 kg. of mushrooms. Most
medicinal plant collectors extract different kinds of plants in small quantities, of
under 1 kg. each per annum. Substantially greater quantities of fruit are extracted,
however, most of all raspberries, bilberries, elder, etc. Between ¼ and 1/3 of all
tourists in the territory of RMNP gather natural products, likewise for personal use;
there are no reliable data that would allow an estimate of the quantities extracted.
4.1.7 Tourism
Tourism is the most significant activity in the park`s territory as well as the biggest
potential source of sustainable income for the private owners of lands and facilities.
Rila Monastery Nature Park is the most visited protected area in the soutwest part of
the country and ranks second in number of visitors in Bulgaria after Vitosha Nature
Park.
Visitor profile
The number of visitors to Rila Monastery Nature Park during 2001 ranges somewhere
between 495,000 and 570,000; about one-third of these, i.e. between 163,350 and
190,000 persons, were foreign nationals. The rest were Bulgarians, as follows: 12%
(i.e. between 59,400 and 68,400) were children on school trips; almost 6% (29,700-
34,200) were residents of nearby communities; while 49% (242,550-279,300) were
Bulgarian citizens from other parts of the country.
So far, no sufficiently reliable system has been introduced to keep track of the number
of visitors to RMNP; neither have any known purposeful attempts been made in the
past to monitor in any consistent way the tourist flow. The estimates cited in the
management plan have been made using the method of the repersentative statistical
sampling, made on the basis of one season of fieldwork and a subsequent statistical
extrapolation of findings.
Rila Monastery Nature Park
Management Plan -Draft
2004 - 2013
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