Rila Monastery Nature Park Management Plan - part - usaid

February 2004
landowner. By virtue of this fact, Rila Monastery as an institution becomes the
principal stakeholder in the process of development of the Management Plan. The
territory’s status of a protected area, in turn, engenders a number of responsibilities
and assigns functions to certain government institutions pertinent to the conservation
of the natural, cultural and historical heritage in the Park.
Involving, from the outset, representatives of all stakeholders, carried out the
planning process. These made up the Extended Planning Team, which comprised
representatives of 12 different institutions: the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox
Church, Rila Monastery, the Directorate of RMNP, the Kyustendil-based Regional
Forestry Board, the National Institute for Monuments of Culture, etc. The members of
the Extended Planning Team have participated in four three-day workshops relevant
to implementing the consecutive stages of planning the management of the Park
territory, as well as in reviewing, in draft form, the final version of the proposed
Management Plan. The gathering and analysis of the information, the organizing of
discussions and workshops, as well as the all-round facilitation of their work, were all
the responsibility of the Core Planning Team. The summarizing of the information,
the writing up and styling of the document was done by the principal author, in
conjunction with the remaining members of the Core Planning Team. The general
work pertinent to the development of the Management Plan was carried out with the
direct and full participation of the members of the Coordination Team of the BCEG
Project.
Connection between the Management Plans for RMNP and RNP – two protected
areas constituting an inseparable natural complex
Conceptually, the connection between the present Management Plan and that for Rila
National Park was ensured through the participation in the Core Planning Team of the
principal author of the RNP Management Plan, Dr. Dimitar Peev, and of Dr. Peter
Hetz, who likewise was directly involved in the development of the latter plan. The
close link between the two Management Plans was also guaranteed by the direct
participation in the Extended Planning Team of Eng. Vassil Petrov, the acting
Director of Rila National Park, whose contribution lies in a much more thorough
analysis of the stated problems of the two protected areas, their zoning, activities and
all other elements that determine the coordinated management of the ecologically
integral complex of Rila National Park and Rila Monastery Nature Park.
Functionally, applying the same approach and logical framework provides the
connection between both Management Plans: purpose-oriented planning.
On the other hand, the distinguishing features of RMNP are reflected in the new
zoning scheme applied, as well as in defining the programs and projects.
Considerable innovation in the planning process, made possible by the experience
accumulated with drafting the management Plan for RNP, was due to the much
stronger involvement of a wide circle of representatives of all stakeholders from the
very beginning of the planning process. Their active input into the planning process
has made it possible to take into account a whole range of social and economic
aspects and interests. This constitutes a major advantage in planning and an assurance
of the attainability and applicability of the Management Plan.
Rila Monastery Nature Park
Management Plan Draft
2004 - 2013
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