Rila Monastery Nature Park Management Plan - part - usaid

February 2004
From among the animal wildlife, hybridization is a threat mostly to the wild cat and
the wolf. Hybrids between wild and domestic cat have been sighted around 1988 in
the territory of the Forest Enterprise. The presence of stray dogs (in the area around
the point of confluence of the Rilska and Iliyna Rivers, and also along the valley of
the Iliyna itself) poses a threat of hybridization between dog and wolf. The
introduction of species of fish like the rainbow trout and, to a certain extent, Brook
trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), which are alien to the Bulgarian ichthyofauna,
constitutes a threat to local fish species, since the invaders compete with, and
eventually displace, the local Balkan trout (Salmo trutta fario).
At certain places throughout the Nature Park, and especially in the area between the
point of confluence of the Rilska and Iliyna Rivers and of the Kalin River Valley,
natural broad-leaf forest ecosystems have been replaced by cultivated forests, mostly
of Scots pine and other species alien to the habitats in question. Such instances of
drastic interference with, and changes in, the local vegetation cause degradation of the
landscape and are detrimental to the natural appearance of the Park, while also
creating possibilities for genetic erosion of wildlife. Afforestation with unsuitable tree
species may trigger changes in the composition of wildlife communities and the
microclimate, thereby causing the extinction of certain, usually stenotopic wildlife
taxa of high conservation significance. Among these are most species of snail (of
those identified within the Park territory only one, Arion subfuscus, can survive in fir
forests), all amphibians, the common grass snake (which breeds only on old broadleaf
forests); also destroyed are the breeding and hunting grounds of bats, etc.
Significance: medium, to some species high
Activities incompatible with the atmosphere and significance of Rila Monastery and
the Holy Sites as a center of the spirit
A threat which compromises the perceived exceptional spiritual significance of Rila
Monastery and the other holy sites around it, is the presence and operation of
commercial entertainment establishments, open-air bazaars, shops etc., with the
inevitable country-fair atmosphere surrounding them; the presence of individuals in
improper attire, of motor vehicles, the noise, pollution and other degrading factors in
the immediate vicinity of the religious sites. All these factors degrade the outlook of
spirituality, propriety, and humility of the holy places.
Significance: very high, local
The sliding of the Rila Monastery compound
Built on an alluvial terrace, in recent decades the Monastery compound has been
involved in a process of a gradual downhill slide of some of its structures and.or parts
thereof, as evidenced by the appearance of cracks and other visual signs. The latter
have been marked accordingly and are subject to constant monitoring. These
destructive processes are probably amplified by vibrations caused by heavy motor
vehicles passing on the stretch of road immediately by the northeastern wing of the
Monastery.
Significance: very high
Rila Monastery Nature Park
Management Plan - Draft
2004 - 2013
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