Rila Monastery Nature Park Management Plan - part - usaid

February 2004
erosion and degradation of natural communities. Most modern structures built in the
territory do not blend well with the environment, nor conform to any coherent vision
of the general appearance of the area; some of them are disused and abandoned to the
elements, which causes further degradation of the aesthetic qualities of the landscape.
A sharp increase in the spread of ruderal species and an invasion of alien (non-local)
ones (e.g. Borago officinalis) has been established around abandoned buildings of rest
homes and other facilities. These appear to be in excellent condition, with superb
reproduction capacity and, consequently, reduce the naturalness of the higher flora.
The highest concentration of ruderal species has been observed along the Iliyna River
and in the Kalin Dam area.
Hydrotechnical facilities, such as water canals, weirs etc., built in river valleys
without any regard to ecological requirements, cannot be navigated by fish and
therefore cut off their natural migratory routes. This threat applies mostly to the
Balkan trout. The building of dikes around some mountain lakes has caused changes
in their water outflow, eutrophication, drying up of one-time wetlands around them,
all of which is a very grave threat to the populations of mountain frog and alpine
newt. While there are no concrete observations of the impact of construction work
itself on the Park’s biota, it can be said that in principle, construction work, incl. the
building of mountain roads, directly affects a whole series of extremely valuable
phytocenoses, habitats of high conservation significance and the wildlife species in
them, and also has an indirect impact on populations of wild animals by disturbing
them.
Special attention is necessary in dealing with the disused, half-destroyed buildings,
tunnels, galleries and other facilities remaining around the Park. Many of these serve
as lairs to bat colonies that will be threatened with extinction.
Construction is a specific threat for the monuments of culture in the Park.
Unregulated building and infrastructure interference is observed over the monuments
of culture and in the security belt boundaries.
Significance: high, local
Overuse of non-timber natural resources
According to a sociological survey, no overuse of the natural resources in RMNP has
been recorded, with the exception of raspberry and rose hip; however, these findings
only apply to the inhabitants of surrounding communities. On the other hand, visiting
users have been found, at places or over certain years, to practice overuse of some
natural resources. A case in point is the wholesale harvesting of St. John’s wort in the
year 2000. Similar situations occur in certain years in relation to mushrooms: the
uncontrolled, haphazard collecting of mushrooms is a major threat to the current
year’s resource and to macrofungous biodiversity in general. Despite a strict ban on
the extraction of medicinal plants of conservation significance (protected pursuant to
the Biodiversity Act) – e.g. Gentiana lutea, Gentiana punctata, Taxus baccata,
Pulsatilla vernalis, Rheum rhaponticum, Rodiola rosea, the survey has found an
expressed interest in the collection of these species throughout the Park territory. The
Rila Monastery Nature Park
Management Plan - Draft
2004 - 2013
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