Rila Monastery Nature Park Management Plan - part - usaid

February 2004
populations (reintroduction), removal of invasive species; specialized protection
including enclosure/separation, improving the nutritional base and conditions within
habitats, etc. Examples of these measures could be taken in light of depleted
populations of large mammal, fish, birds, as well as special habitats of other animal
and plant species.
1.3 Management of natural resources
The long-term goals listed below lay down the philosophy and principles of sustainable
management of natural resources. At the core of these goals is the belief that
sustainable harvests of natural resources can be achieved without the loss of
biodiversity. But there is still a need to demonstrate the practices and success of
resource harvesting without damaging the environment, without jeopardizing the other
values of the Park and Monastery, and within limits that provide for natural resource
self-renewal and continued preservation.
Long-term goal 1.3.1 To preserve the water resources within RMNP and to
allow their use solely in quantities and by means that would not constitute a threat
to ecosystems within its territory.
The impacts of human manipulation of watersheds and the redirection of water from
the Nature Park have unspecified and unknown consequences, but the impacts cannot
be beneficial or natural. This Goal aims to prevent further disruption of water
resources and patterns in the Park, and to determine the minimal requirements of a
system that is clearly water dependent. The interventions and/or mistakes of our
predecessors do not need to be blindly repeated in the event that its negative impacts
outweigh its advantages. For water resources this is particularly difficult given the
dependence of a growing human population. However, international sustainable
development and conservation measures worldwide are demonstrating the foolishness
of blindly pursuing water use at the expense of larger issues of environmental quality.
Long-term goal 1.3.2 To operate a model of sustainable caretaking and use
in suitable sections of the RMNP forests while conserving biodiversity and without
compromising other values and significance of the Park.
This Goal is aimed at developing a model of contemporary forest management that
will provide timber and income to the owner, and not compromise tourism or the
value of the biodiversity in the Park. This Goal is premised on the need to modify the
existing Forest Inventory 2000 and to use that plan more judiciously within an
experimental area of the Park until appropriate, sustainable forest management
techniques and practices have been demonstrated successfully. Such practices may
include changes to the regimes of timber harvesting, timber extraction, road
construction, storage, transportation, and processing. While intentions in Bulgaria
have been focused on developing models of sustainable forestry management that
incorporates biodiversity conservation, there has been little practical experience to
date with their effective application. There is equally important pressure on the
Bulgarian Orthodox Church to demonstrate a model of forest management that adds
to the reputation and image of the Rila Monastery, and does not jeopardize any of the
Rila Monastery Nature Park
Management Plan - Draft
2004 - 2013
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