Individuals contributing to the destruction of Bulgarian nature The people listed below either violate the Bulgarian laws or find and use legal lapses in order to destroy the Bulgarian natural heritage, pursuing their selfish interests against the long-term interests of the entire nation.
1. Александър Краваров Aleksander (Alexander) Kravarov - Mayor of the town of Bansko who advised the residents to poach openly if Pirin National Park is included in Natura 2000; together with Ulen Company created the Bansko Ski Zone inside Pirin National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
2. Амадеус Кръстев Amadeus Krastev (Krustev) - a pseudo conservationist with an actual anti-environmental stance. He and his wife Yonka Savova make a living by opposing all environmental organizations. He presents himself as "the only true eco-activist", who "of course" supports the investment plan in question (Bansko Ski Zone, gold mining in Chelopech and Krumovgrad etc.). To show their gratitude, the supported investors (First Investment Bank, Dundee Precious metals) have given him money and a new sport utility vehicle.
3. Andrey Ikonomov - Chairman of the Fifth Division of the Supreme Administrative Court. Court panels chaired by him stripped Kamchia Sands Protected Area and Botanical Garden of St. Constantine and Elena Protected Area of their protected status, allowing their destruction. In the same way on June 29, 2007 Ikonomov stripped the protection status from the country's largest protected territory - Strandja Nature Park. He is an excellent example of the corruption in the Bulgarian judicial system.
4. Асен Гагаузов Assen (Asen) Gagauzov - Minister of Regional Development and Public Works. On Feb. 15, 2007, he proposed postponement of the inclusion of over 35 areas in Natura 2000 until October in order to make their documentation precise. As a result, all these areas are now threatened by destruction. He also proposed exclusion from Natura 2000 of areas given under concession and areas with accepted developmental plan. Gagauzov also signed the agreement for Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline which is a serious threat for Black Sea ecosystem, residents of the Burgas region and Burgas Coastal Lakes with their unique bird fauna.
5. Ахмед Доган Ahmed Dogan - founder and chairman of the DPS (Movement for Rights and Freedoms) Party, "godfather" of the Bulgarian wood mafia responsible for most wildfires in the country (and, hence, also for several deaths of firefighters in the line of duty). He owns over 300 hotels built semi-legally in or in close vicinity to protected areas.
6. Bahtishen Ehlimanova - Manager of the infamous Krash 2000 Company which obtained a go-ahead to build inside Strandja Nature Park carrying a forged signature of a deputy minister. After illegally building the Golden Pearl hotel complex inside Strandja Nature Park, Krash 2000 appealed in court the protected status of the park in order to legalize the construction. Ehlimanova is personally responsible for blackmailing and direct threats to employees of Strandja Nature Park and their families.
7. Borislav Popov - dummy of Raiffeisenbank, he is manager of Rees International Company, which is doing illegal construction work at Kamchia Sands.
8. Besoolu Brothers (Isa and Mehmed) and Tyurkyan Besoolu. In cooperation with Ergin Tyoren, they own the logging and wood-processing companies Les Trans and Tera Les. They intimidate, control and keep in financial dependence the local population and the municipality council. Members of the DPS Parliamentary Group frequent their public dinners and two DPS ministers, Nihat Kabil and Dzhevdet Chakarov, give them political protection. Besoolu Brothers' company is logging around the town of Pavel Banya in illicit accord with the local forest rangers. The rangers do all the paperwork allowing construction of new roads to forest areas with good timber supply, claiming that the road is needed for planting new trees. Then Besoolu logs the allowed amount of wood and a protocol is prepared to certify that only a small quantity has been logged legally. However, his workers, 200 men from the town of Kotel equipped with cutters, don't leave. They remain for months, destroying the entire forest surrounding the road. After finishing their job, they move to another area to do the same.
9. Ваклин Стойновски Vaklin Stoynovski - a highly controversial businessman. Somehow by moves never made public, he managed to obtain construction permit to build a skyscraper (of course including the adjacent infrastructure) inside a 100 years old park - the Sea Garden of the town of Burgas (Bourgas).
10. Валентин Златев Valentin Zlatev - Manager of Lukoil Bulgaria Company planning to build extensively at the Smolyan Lakes and to line them with concrete.
11. Valentin Nikolov - owner of Kaliakra Invest Company that is currently destroying the last steppe ecosystem of Bulgaria.
12. Vasil Zlatev - former Mayor of Pravets (the home town of the former Bulgarian dictator Todor Zhivkov) and father of the above listed Valentin Zlatev (President of Lukoil Bulgaria Co.). Violating the law with impunity, Vasil Zlatev has built a giant hotel at the beach of Obzor.
13. Velichko Makakov - Deputy Mayor of the town of Shabla with bizarre ideas about the term "protected territory". According to him, Shabla and Durankulak Lakes Protected Territory includes only their waters but not their shores.
14. Veselina Darpatova - Chairwoman of the Razlog Committee Oppozing Natura 2000. She has contributed much to the transformation of the beautiful Bansko-Razlog Valley into a dirty construction site exhibiting ugly concrete buildings. Darpatova also campaigns for the Kulinoto Ski Zone, a project which, if realized, will completely destroy Pirin National Park.
15. Veselina Savova and Veselina Tomova - owner and contributor, respectively, of the site "vlastta.com". They have a column titled "Natura 2000 as read by the Bulgarian devil" and devoted to ferocious propaganda war against Natura 2000.
16. Veska Karamanova - Mayor of the town of Sozopol. She has issued construction permit for the area of Humata cape (between the marshland of Alepu and Ropotamo river).
17. Georgi Velchev - younger brother of the former finance minister Milen Velchev. His most scandalous project is lining the Rila lakes with concrete. Georgi Velchev has 14 hotels at the Black Sea beach and has done construction work on the beach of Obzor. The hotels were built illegally and were legalized later with the help of Milen Velchev. The other hotels of the two brothers are located in Zlatni Pyasatsi (Golden Sands), Ravda, Slanchev Bryag and the former Oasis Camping Site. Georgi Velchev also snatched two hotels from the University of Economics - Varna, demolished them and built two new hotels named Crown Plaza Helios.
18. Ginka Radeva - a.k.a. "Anti-Natura Ginka", she is Chairwoman of the Union of Owners Harmed by Natura 2000 and fights against all efforts to protect the nature of Black Sea coast.
19. Гриша Ганчев Grisha Ganchev - owner of Litex Commerce JSC. In return for forests in the neighbourhood of Lovech, he has acquired by exchange deals property in the area of Shabla Lake and Krapets and intends to create linkses there.
20. Daniela Petrova - new dummy "owner" of Krash 2000, which is most important among companies destroying nature.
21. Джевдет Чакъров Dzhevdet Chakarov - Minister of Environment and Water. Not only doesn't he do anything against the mafia plundering the protected areas but he generously transforms the property status of the national protected areas, giving them to individuals and companies. After banning construction at Irakli for a year, Chakarov "renewed" the ban but excluded from its action some territories, allowing the most insolent lawbreakers to build directly at the beach. So Mr. Chakarov as representative of the government made fools of the thousands of citizens campaigning to protect Black Sea coastal environment. The territories scheduled to be built over include 50% of the dunes of the protected area, 100% of the estuaries and 100% of the dense coastal (longoza) forests.
22. Димитър Зоров Dimitar Zorov - owner of Parshevitsa dairy. His company is the main culprit to blame for the destruction of Vratsa Balkan Nature Park. It pollutes the rivers of the park with sewage waters from the dairy, damaged the road to Parshevitsa hut, constructed illegally farm buildings and hotels and interferes with the normal pedestrian tourism in the area.
23. Долорес Арсенова Dolores Arsenova - former Minister of Environment of Water. She has issued numerous construction permits in protected areas without Estimate of Impact on Environment. An example is the area of Varvarsko near the town of Ahtopol.
24. Dora Yankova Dora Yankova - Mayor of the town of Smolyan. She broadened the area of Perelik Ski Resort to 13000 ha. She is also planning to create a new ski resort at the village of Momchilovtsi and the mountain top of Prespa. The project is supported by the President Georgi Parvanov.
25. Evgeni Mosinov - Legal Adviser of the Municipality of Tsarevo and candidate of the Bulgarian Socialist Party for Regional Governor of Burgas (Bourgas). He is chief instigator of the Municipality of Tsarevo campaign against Strandja Nature Park.
26. Evgenia Baneva Evgenia Gencheva (Baneva) - the person directly responsible for the arsons and robberies at the beach of Irakli Protected Area.
27. Elka Dimova - Mayor of the town of Shabla who has "investment plans" to build in Shabla Lake Complex, although the latter is included in Natura 2000.
28. Emil Ivanov - contact person of the scandalous illegal Golden Pearl construction.
29. Ergin Tyoren - see Beloolu Brothers.
30. Ivan Stanchev - co-owner of Kaliakra Invest Company and owner of Ira 60. He is responsible for much of the concrete lining the Black Sea beach.
31. Yordan Dardov - Deputy Minister of Environment of Water. He allowed construction works without Report of Estimate of Impact on Environment between the village of Sinemorets and the beach of Butamyata. (This spot is located inside Strandja Nature Park, next to Veleka Outflow Protected Area). Dardov's Ministry issued a letter allowing Krash 2000 Company to build inside Strandja Nature Park without Estimate of Impact on Environment. Dardov's signature under that letter subsequently turned out to be forged, but nobody has yet given any explanation why the forged document carries the Ministry's seal and has an outgoing number.
32. Kamen Kostadinov - Member of Parliament of the DPS Party. He, together with Nesrin Uzun, was behind the postponed action of the Black Sea Coast Law. As a result of their lobbying, the Law will come into action only in 2008, which will give the criminal "businessmen" enough time to finish the already advanced destruction of the Black Sea Coast.
33. Kiril Voynov - a well known firefighter who calls himself "ecologist" (most likely meaning "eco-activist") and actively opposes Natura 2000.
34. Konstantin Penchev - Chairman of the Supreme Administrative Court who stripped Kamchia Sands Protected Area of its protected status. He once said that corruption in the judicial system is quite normal but the open expression of public opinion is a source of stress for the court and jeopardizes its objectivity.
35. Красимир Гергов Krasimir Gergov - media boss who pays for "a license" to break the law. An example is the Thracian Cliffs complex. Gergov is Chairman of the Bulgarian Golf Association and intends to create 40 linkses. One of them is planned to be located at the Primorsko beach despite the protests of residents.
36. Любен Лаков Lyuben Lakov - Mayor of the town of Nikopol. He protects the illegal quarry at the Nikopol Plateau near the village of Muselievo, a site included in Natura 2000. To make the quarry "legal", Lakov has even forged a protocol changing the land status. The quarry has destroyed rare habitats of unique endemic plants.
37. Любен Татарски Lyuben Tatarski - Mayor of the town of Razlog, initiator and supporter of Kulinoto Ski Zone project. The ski zone is planned to be created inside Bayuvi Dupki - Djindjiritsa biosphere reserve. Tatarski advised the residents of Razlog to poach openly if Natura 2000 is fully approved.
38. Любка Качакова Lyubka Kachakova - a young lady whose T-shirt with inscription "We are ashamed of you" (meaning the government) was her only qualification to enter politics. She bought the school building of the village of Gela at a knockdown price by swindle - the building had been declared burned-out beforehand. Now, Kachakova owns a nice small spa hotel in the same village. She is also campaigning for the Super Perelik Ski Center project, i.e. for concrete-lining of one of the most beautiful spots in the Rodopi Mountain. A company was founded especially for the creation of the ski center. The main investor and woner of 50% of shares in this company is Kachakova's best man. He is a businessman from the town of Smolyan whose only enterprise before the ski center project was a company for light furniture. Kachakova also owns a nice piece of land in the region of Irakli. It was bought at a very low price, allegedly from relatitions. It is probably just a coincidence that Irakli was excluded from Natura 2000 by an act of the Ministry of Environment and Water.
39. Людмил Стойков Lyudmil Stoykov - owner of the overcrowded vacation settlement of Dyuni (Duni). He has snatched EUR 7.5 millions from the SAPARD program in order to build even more hotels in close proximity to Alepu Protected Area.
40. Mehmed Dikme - former Minister of Agriculture who began the illegal sellout of protected areas. He and his successor Nihat Kabil have sold 300 decares of Strandja Nature Park in violation of the law.
41. Несрин Узун Nesrin Uzun - Member of Parliament of the DPS Party. She, together with Kamen Kostadinov, was behind the postponed action of the Black Sea Coast Law. As a result of their lobbying, the Law will come into action only in 2008, which will give the criminal "businessmen" enough time to finish the already advanced destruction of the Black Sea Coast.
42. Николай Банев Nikolay Banev - owner of the AKB Fores Holding. He has an investment plan to eradicate the natural vegetation in the region of Irakli and to replace it with rye-grass for a links.
43. Николай Василев Nikolay Vasilev - former Minister of Economy. His proposal led to exclusion of 1500 decares of beach land from public state property and their transfer to private state property in violation of the law. These excluded protected ares were later reclassified from "beaches" to "pastures".
44. Nihat Kabil - Minister of Agriculture and Forestry (now Agriculture and Food Supply). He proposed valuable Bulgarian forests to be excluded from Natura 2000 becaused he supported the "investment plan" of logging them. This led to the exclusion of Red Wall and Slavyanka Biosphere Reserves, both protected by UNESCO. In return for generous donation by Rees International, that is, by Raiffeisenbank, Nihat Kabil managed to exchange Kamchia Sands Protected Area labeled as "pastures" (and, hence, at the price of EUR 0.07 per square meter) for low-quality agricultural land in the region of Vidin (estimated at a much higher price). Kabil even suggested the price difference to be compensated with taxpayers' money.
45. Nia Belcheva - a dummy posing as owner of the scandalous Krash 2000 company.
46. Петър Диков Petar Dikov - former Head of National Center of Territorial Development, which is subordinate to the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works. While occupying this position, he promoted the project of concrete lining of Irakli. Later, he bought land in the area of Irakli. Dikov is currently Chief Architect of Sofia.
47. Петко Арнаудов Petko Arnaudov - Mayor of the town of Tsarevo. His irresponsible actions against the natural environment of the Tsarevo neighbourhood are akin to attitude towards enemy land. Together with the Krash 2000 Company, Arnaudov demanded Strandja Nature Park to be stripped of its protected status. He allowed Krash 2000 to log a spot in Strandja Park and to replace the forest with ugly illegal construction works. After corruption triumphed at the Supreme Administrative Court at June 29, 2007, Arnaudov proposed "a deal" (i.e. blackmail): Strandja to remain a Nature Park but the illegal construction of Krash 2000 to be excluded from its territory.
48. Rumen Petkov - Interior Minister, coming from the Bulgarian Socialist Party. He allowed protesting taxi drivers to block the city of Sofia for a day but relentlessly crushes every protest of ordinary citizens, even if it lasts less than 30 minutes. He especially likes arresting young pedestrians (aged 14-42) who protest against snatching of protected territories and high-level corruption. He also persecutes bloggers who dare to write in support of the protected areas. His anti-environmental record dates back to the days when he was Mayor of the city of Pleven. At this position in 1997, he allowed and supported an illegal motorcycle track owned by Bogdan Nikolov (Head of the Bulgarian Motorcycle Federation) to be constructed in Kaylaka Protected Area. Minister Petkov's last "feat" is an interrogation of an Irishman without an interpreter (by a policeman named Simeon Simeonov). The Irishman was pressured to confess that he has said by phone that a bomb had been planted in the ski racing track of Ulen Company. The whole affair seems designed to cover the true "terrorist" - Ulen Company, owned by First Investment Bank. At the same time, Minister Petkov doesn't care about law and order that are his duty. He did nothing about the child seller in the city of Varna, neither did he attempt to control the pre-election ethnic violence in Sofia.
49. Rumen Rashev - Mayor of the town of Veliko Tarnovo (Turnovo). During his term, over 30% of the trees in Veliko Tarnovo were logged down and the town became second only to Sofia in overbuilding. Rashev is known by his saying that "he who needs trees should go to the wood".
50. Сергей Станишев Sergei (Sergey) Stanishev - Prime Minister of Bulgaria. He postponed the inclusion of some areas in Natura 2000 in violation of the law and openly said he had personal "investment plans" for these areas.
51. Симеон Сакскобургготски Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha - former King (1943-1946) and Prime Minister (2001-2005) of Bulgaria. During his term, he let protected territories be plundered and turned into residential areas. He used his position to manage "return of his property" (actually property of the Crown, i.e. the Bulgarian state) over 16000 decares of forest in violation of the law, which only allows return of up to 300 decares. In a way not disclosed to the public, this land was later excluded from Natura 2000.
52. Стоян Захариев Stoyan Zahariev - after a failed career of a singer, he became manager of a property investment company. Despite the ban, Zahariev is doing illegal construction work in the area of Irakli, inside a potential Natura 2000 site. He called the environmental activists and experts "drug addicts".
53. Todor Varbanov - Regional Governor of Montana, main proponent of the Kom Ski Zone Project which, if realized, will be disastrous for the West Balkan.
54. Fatme Iliaz - former Deputy Minister of Environment and Water. She allowed construction works near the villages of Varvara and Kondolovo, inside Strandja Nature Park.
55. Христо Стоичков Hristo Stoichkov (Stoitchkov) - a well known soccer player of the recent past who now has a plan to line Smolyan Lakes with concrete.
56. Цветко Цветков Tsvetko Tsvetkov - Regional Governor of Pleven. He arrogantly intimidated and harassed environmental activists who protested against the illegal quarry of Technoengineering Group in the Nikopol Plateau.
57. Цеко Минев Tseko (Tzeko) Minev - major shareholder of First Invesment Bank and Ulen JSC, Chairman of the Bulgarian Ski Federation. He bears the main responsibility for the construction of Bansko Ski Zone.
58. Цонко Цонев Tsonko Tsonev - Mayor of the town of Kavarna and destroyer of Kaliakra Reserve. The credit goes to him for building wind power generators right in the way of migrating birds, constructing a Muslim-style resort at the shore of Kaliakra Nature Reserve and historic site and destroying the coast near Kavarna by linkses. His most recent initiative is digging in the area of Kalekayryak.
59. Юрий Лужков Yury (Yuri) Luzhkov - Mayor of Moscow, known for his "expertise" in deals against the public interests. Laundering money snatched from Russian taxpayers, allegedly to create a summer camp for children, Luzhkov built inside the former protected area of Kamchia Sands. He is also planning to build in the region of Pamporovo. In order to obtain the desired land and beach near Kamchia, Luzhkov organized beating of the opposing Mayor of the village of Avren. This beating apparently served as a lesson for Minister Mehmed Dikme who a day after it generously and willingly transformed this valuable territory from a state-owned protected area into a building site. Luzhkov's planned "all-inclusive oasis" will not be supplied by water treatment equipment and will produce daily an average of 3 tons of human excrement*. It will flow into the river of Kamchia and then will be delivered to the beach.
Original can be found at
http://bgnature-blacklist.bravehost.com/index-en.htmlInstitutions and organizations contributing to the destruction of Bulgarian nature 60. Supreme Administrative Court - this high division of the judicial system unfortunately became unit measure for corruption in Bulgaria. In 2006, using unclear and inaccurate argumentation, it stripped Kamchia Sands Protected Area of its protection status and, hence, gave away to criminal "businessmen" the largest sand beach of Bulgaria. On June 29, 2007 the same court stripped the protected status from Strandja Nature Park in order to allow legalization of the illegal construction of Krash 2000 Company. To show his good will, the Mayor of Tsarevo had donated to the Court some land at the beach excellent to build a hotel over. The Supreme Administrative Court also renounced the management plan of Rila Monastery Nature Park in order to allow the semi-legal construction of water power generators.
61. National Service for Combating Organized Crime - as if there is a shortage of organized crime in Bulgaria, the Service occupies itself with censoring those who write in the Web in support of protected territories.
62. Green Alliance - pseudo eco-activists including Kiril Voynov.
63. Green Patrols - the pseudo-conservationist organization of Amadeus Krastev.
64. Government of Bulgaria - despite the vow to serve their country, members of Sergey Stanishev's Cabinet postponed the inclusion in Natura 2000 of half of the sites planned to be included. Among the postponed sites are several biosphere reserves, 3 national parks and 2 nature parks. The "postponement" should be put in quotation marks because the Government imposed it without taking any measures to protect these sites, so it is likely to result in their destruction.
65. National Forestry Board - its members openly expressed the intention to poach in forests, including two biosphere reserves protected by UNESCO.
66. Municipality Council of Nesebar - officially gave the entire coast from Obzor to Pomorie the status of a town street.
67. Varna Regional Inspectorate for Environment Protection - allowed, by inaction, the destruction of rare habitats near the village of Bozhurets and the digging of Kaliakra steppe.
68. Rila Monastery - apparently not receiving enough profit from serving God, the "holy fathers" decided to build three water power generators in Rila Monastery Nature Park without Estimate of Impact on Environment. The constructions were licensed by the Supreme Administrative Court.
Companies contributing to the destruction of Bulgarian nature 69. AES - built wind power generators in the way of migrating birds in Kaliakra Reserve.
70. AKB Fores Holding - almost single-handed owner of Irakli, has snatched even the beach. This company logged the protected vegetation surrounding the river of Vaya. It is also thought to be behind the harassment of tourists in Irakli.
71. Black Sea Golf & Country Club - currently constructing a links near the town of Pomorie.
72. Bulgaria Hold (owned by Plamen Alekseev) - currently concrete-lining Shabla Lakes from the side of Ezerets and destroying Durankulak Lake.
73. Bulgarian Golf Society - main destroyer of Shabla shore near the villages of Vaklino, Ezerets and Krapets.
74. Galaxy Property Group Ltd. - based in the city of Plovdiv, this company has specialized in building on state-owned land and snatching such land, including protected areas, sand dunes and beaches. In the resort of Slanchev Bryag, the company owns the following hotels: Saturn (semi-legal), Oasis VIP Homes (proven illegal) and Royal Beach (legality controversial).
75. Glavbolgarstroy - has aggressive plans to build in the river valley of Palakaria and to urbanize the marshland of Arkutino and the cape of Galata. Their most scandalous project is Kom Ski Center planned to be located inside West Balkan Natura 2000 site, in two current protected areas. If realized, the ski center will destroy the unique nature of the Kom mountain top. Glavbolgarstroy is also building on the shores of Arkutino and Ropotamo in violation of the ban on construction during the summer season.
76. Eurosilex - a property developer doing illegal construction works in the river valley of Batova.
77. Ecoguard Association Irakli -uniformed criminal "guards" who steal personal belongings and set fires in Irakli Protected Area.
78. LBG - owner of Dune hotel built on the formerly protected dunes of Slanchev Bryag and proven illegal.
79. INOS-1 Ltd. - this company is digging the steppe of Kaliakra and destroying protected species with the excuse of constructing wind power facilities. The construction work has begun without Estimate of Impact on Environment.
80. IrisVisia - a Web designer company which created the irakliresort site advertising the destruction of Irakli.
81. Kaliakra Invest and Ira 60 - currently destroying the last preserved steppe of Bulgaria and building a settlement with absurd Arabic architecture at the unique shore of the cape of Kaliakra, a Natura 2000 site.
82. Kendar - an Irish "investor" violating the law banning construction on the beach of Shkorpilovtsi village.
83. Krash 2000 - a company showing unprecedented arrogance in its anti-environmental activities. It illegally constructed a resort complex in Nature Park Strandja, using a forged permit. Then it appealed in court the protected status of the park. Krash 2000 has been sanctioned for illegal construction and irreversible damage of soil.
84. Litex Commerce JSC (owned by Grisha Ganchev) - currently building at the shores of Shabla lakes from the side of Ezerets and at the sea shore of Balchik.
85. Partners Commerce - concessioner of the beach of Irakli which doesn't fulfill its obligations and is working for the interests of Banev and company instead.
86. Rees International - a company owned by Raiffeisen Centrobank AG. It bought from the state 400 decares of dunes in Kamchia Sands Protected Area estimated to cost only EUR 0.07 per square meter. Then the company claimed that the status of the protected area is unclear and began illegal construction works. When it became clear that the purchase of this land was violating the law, Rees International successfully appealed the protection status of Kamchia Sands in court. It is largely thought that the company bribed the Supreme Administrative Court to judge in its favour.
87. Rila Sport JSC - an offshore company (99 % owned by Reelstone Trade Business Corporation registered in British Virgin Islands). It is planning to build illegally 21 ski racing tracks and other facilities over 1800 decares of land inside Rila National Park.
88. Rila Samokov 2004 JSC - an offshore company thought to be owned by the owners of Rila Sport. It is engaged with the scandalous Super Borovets project for a town-like resort inside Rila National Park.
89. Russalka Holidays - a "tour operator" turning the unique Black Sea coast into a private rye-grass covered lawn.
90. SOK-Kamchia JSC - a company owned by Yuri Luzhkov. It is pouring out concrete near the outflow of Kamchia river over 130 decares of state-owned land formerly belonging to a protected area. Luzhkov's company uses funds of Moscow Municipality.
91. Swiss Properties - an offshore company currently destroying Irakli Protected Area in order to build an illegal ghetto to house tourists.
92. TIM - Shabla Golf - currently doing construction works on what has remained from the natural habitats between the town of Shabla and the village of Tyulenovo.
93. Technoengineering Group JSC - a company based in the town of Gabrovo and with contribution to the Nikopol - Turnu Magurele ferry. This company created and exploited the illegal quarry near the village of Muselievo at the Nikopol Plateau. By this activity, it destroyed habitats of unique endemic plants and rare animals.
94. Thracian Cliffs Golf and Spa Resort JSC - a company with dubious reputation which snatched the coast of Topola and Bozhurets and destroyed unique habitats sheltering populations of numerous protected plant species.
95. Ulen JSC - this company illegally logged centuries-old white firs in Pirin National Park in order to make its own private landslide officially called "ski racing track". It openly harasses independent tourists. When somebody called to claim that a bomb had been planted in this man-made landslide (a claim later proven false), Ulen, with the help of Amadeus Krastev, portrayed environmental organizations as extremists. The "telephone terrorist" was not found and some sources hypothesize that it may have been the company itself, which was given an excellent opportunity to deal with its opponents.
96. SMA mineral - illegally digging for sand inside Strandja Nature Park.
Banks funding the destruction of Bulgarian nature The banks listed below use the interest profits they obtain from their clients' savings in order to fund the destruction of protected territories.
97. First Investment Bank - the main provider of funds for Bansko Ski Center and, hence, for the destruction of Pirin Nature Park.
98. Raiffeisen Centrobank AG - through its daughter company Rees International, this bank bought land in the Kamchia Sands area, which was public state property. First, this land was proclaimed agricultural, then the bank paid only 0.07 EUR per square meter because the dunes were not fit for agriculture.
99. Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) - destoys the steppe of Kaliakra cape by funding the construction of wind power facilities.
Hotels and projects violating the environmental laws of Bulgaria 100. Ajour de la mar - project of an Arab-style resort settlement at the coast of Kaliakra cape. It is inside a Natura 2000 site and will affect irreversibly Kaliakra Reserve.
101. Bella Vista Beach Club - an ugly hotel built illegaly on the beach of Butamyata. It is owned by TIM, a group based in the city of Varna. Its guests are Germans seeking cheap vacation and Bulgarian thugs. Its sewage waters flow directly onto the beach. The hotel produces an average of 27 kilograms of human excrement per day*.
102. Golden Valley - a concrete complex of 58 hotels built in the most pristine rocky and steppe part of the valley of Batova. It is in the heartland of the Natura 2000 site of the same name. Golden Valley looks like a grotesque ugly town and is three times larger than the nearby village of Lyahovo. It was created by Eurosilex Company owned by Grisha Ganchev.
103. Dune - a hotel owned by Maya Ilieva, widow of the former boss of VAI Holding Georgi Iliev who was murdered in 2005. The hotel is built absolutely illegally on the dunes of the beach of Slanchev Bryag, replacing a water slide. It pours directly into the sea 39 kg of human excrement daily*. It is scheduled for demolition but nobody can tell when, and if, it will be carried out.
104. Golden Pearl - an illegally built resort settlement in Strandja Nature Park. During the construction works, the Ministry of Environment and Water issued an order to stop the construction, but the investor Krash 2000 Co. threatened the official who was to hand the order with "accident". After most of the construction was finished, however, it was blocked because its illegality was proven. In its quest to legalize the hotel complex, the investor together with Mayor Petko Arnaudov appealed the protected status of Strandja Nature Park in the Supreme Administrative Court. After the National Assembly reversed the court decision, the fate of Golden Pearl is unclear - whether it will be demolished or at the end of the day will be completed and allowed to work in violation of the law. In latter case, the lack of sewerage will lead to daily flow of 38 kilograms* of human excrement directly into the sea.
105. Marina Royal Palace - a hotel built in Cape Agalina Nature Landmark. The owners have arrogantly snatched the beach by installing a stable fence. The hotel produces a daily average of 156 kg* of excrement.
106. Oasis VIP Homes - a hotel built upon the formerly protected dunes of Slanchev Bryag. Its beach is declared "private" although construction on dunes and privatization of beaches are both banned by Bulgarian laws. The hotel is proven illegal and must be demolished. It is co-owned by the Plovdiv company Galaxy Property Group Ltd., Rugen - Dimitar Yankov company (whose owner Dimitar Yankov, Chairman of the Municipality Council of Nesebar, was murdered), the Burgas company Holiday-ON JSC and the Plovdiv company Puldin Holiday Ltd., daughter company of Vinprom Peshtera.
107. Super Borovets - a project to transform Rila, the highest mountain in Bulgaria, into an urbanized zone. The entire territory planned to be included in the project is inside Rila National Park. Although the project is insane and in violation of the laws, it can be realized. The main players behind it are Velchev brothers (Milen, a former finance minister, and Georgi, a businessmen who enriched himself quite fast).
108. Riverside Village - a project of Swiss Properties to build in the area of Irakli, dangerously close to the protected territories of Irakli and Smrikite and inside of a "postponed" Natura 2000 site. The digging works for the hotel constructions began without any of the documents required for a construction work to be legal, without Estimate of Impact on Environment and despite a construction ban issued by the Ministry of Environment and Water. When finished, this "beautiful" resort settlement will pour into the river of Vaya a daily average of 30 kg human excrement* that will flow to the beach.
109. Riu Miramar - a hotel illegally and arrogantly built on the sand of the Obzor beach. It discards daily 300 kg* human excrement to an "undisclosed" location.
110. Sveti Toma (St. Toma) - an illegal resort complex built in May-June, 2007. Despite the ban on constructions, 500 cubic meters of concrete were poured per day. The complex is located at the beach of Arkutino, dangerously close to Ropotamo Reserve. It is owned by Glavbolgarstroy.
111. Serenity Bay - an illegally built hotel owned by TUI. It replaced the camping site of Nestinarka and is located directly on the beach dunes.
112. Heaven Apartments - a hotel owned by Georgi Slavov nicknamed Glavata, son of Stoil Slavov, the exploded boss of SKI group. It is located right on the sand of the Slanchev Bryag beach, violating a number of Bulgarian laws including the Constitution. It was built by Unitours JSC, a company created by the murdered Stoil Slavov. The company claimed it was unaware that it was building a hotel and thought it was making a water slide.
113. Helios Bay - a giant ugly 5-storey hotel looking like a prison and built directly on the sand of the beach of Obzor. Owned by Vasil Zlatev. The hotel produces daily 331 kg of human excrement*.
* Bansko: formerly an architecture reserve town, now a city illegally spreading to the town of Razlog and inside Pirin National Park.
* Borovets: a former elite resort, now an overbuilt and overcrowded town with a lot of "properties for sale".
* Zlatni Pyasatsi (Golden Sands): formerly a small elite resort, now an overbuilt residential area illegally spreading inside Zlatni Pyasatsi National Park.
* Duni (Dyuni, Djuni): formerly a resort settlement, it was overbuilt. The construction was funded by inappropriate use of SAPARD funds. This is one of the "resorts" that violate the Bulgarian Constitution by limiting access to the beach.
* Arapya Camping Site: This place had magic beauty; in 2007, possibly for the last time, at mornings at about 6 am dolphins could be seen by the cliffs. Now, there are construction works right on the beach. Some aluminium-concrete ugly building will replace the light 1-storey bungalows that served tourists so well.
* Nestinarka Camping Site: On the very beach of Nestinarka was built the giant ugly Serenity Bay hotel. Around it, four more are in construction, with noisy machines working in the middle of the tourist season. It is very likely that the forest by the beach will be logged and replaced with asphalt and concrete.
* Nesebar: This town used to be an architecture reserve and pleasant sea resort, now it is an overbuilt ghetto that has merged with Slanchev Bryag. Recently, guards of a disco in this town killed a Swedish tourist of Iraqi origin by jumping on his head.
* Pamporovo: a former elite mountain resort, now an overbuilt town with artificial snow.
* Razlog: this mountain town is now an overbuilt city "gnawing" the southern part of Rila mountain.
* Sinemorets: This village used to be a pleasant sea resort. Now its beach is barred by an ugly yellow hotel built directly on the sand.
* Slanchev Bryag (Sunny Beach): Formerly an elite resort, now an overbuilt and overcrowded town, this place clearly shows the shortsightedness and arrogance of the Bulgarian criminal "businessmen". The Burgas Regional Inspectorate for Protection of Environment allowed the marshland of Slanchev Bryag to be dried and built upon. Now, the dunes around are scheduled to be sold out. The tourists who currently come to this resort are mainly retired ladies, Germans and Russians seeking cheap vacation and a quite high number of drug addicts. Similarly to Nesebar which it has actually engulfed, Slanchev Bryag has a record of racial-motivated attacks on tourists: two Swedish tourists of African origin were beaten at a Slanchev Bryag disco.
* Sozopol: formerly an architecture reserve with a wonderful beach, now it offers to visitors concrete, grilled rissoles, stale sprat and awful loud "music".
* Tsarevo: used to be a pleasant resort town, now densely built and resembling a city suburb.
Protected territories with drastically disturbed equilibrium and/or illegally snatched land and other resources * Topola-Bozhurets Natura 2000 site - covered with buildings and a links by Thracian Cliffs and Spa Resort JSC, with unscrupulously destroyed habitats of threatened species from the IUCN Red List.
* Alepu Protected Area
* Arkutino Protected Area
* Veleka Protected Area
* Gorna Koria Protected Area
* Irakli Protected Area - with destroyed riverbank vegetation, partially logged forests and subject to extensive building projects. The companies responsible are Swiss Properties and AKB Fores united as "association of owners with non-economic purposes". Deputy Minister Lyubka Kachakova guaranteed them impunity.
* Kamchia Sands Protected Area - stripped of its protection status by the Supreme Administrative Court in order to be illegally built over by Raiffeisenbank.
* Pirin National Park
* Rila National Park
* Zlatni Pyasatsi (Golden Sands) Nature Park
* Vitosha Nature Park
* Strandja (Strandzha) Nature Park - was temporarily stripped of its protected status by the Supreme Administrative Court in order to legalize an illegal construction of Krash 2000 Company. Currently, the nature park is savable but is still in peril because the illegal Krash construction isn't yet demolished.
* Cape Agalina Nature Landmark - now transferred to private hands and densely built upon.
* Sand Dunes Nature Landmark (between the camping sites of Gradina and Zlatna Ribka)
* Ropotamo Reserve
* Ulen (Julen) Reserve - logged to make room for the ski racing track of Ulen JSC.
Original can be found at
http://bgnature-blacklist.bravehost.com/index-en.html
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