Sofia, July 20 (BTA) - Bulgaria is a leader in the protection of
 virgin forests in Europe thanks to the fact that there is a lot
 of State-owned woodland and that the State, together with
environmentalists, undertook to protect it, said Alexander
Dountchev, Director of the Forestry Executive Agency (FEA).

He was speaking during Monday's field visit to an old-growth
forest at Vitosha Nature Park organized by FEA and WWF-Bulgaria.
 The field visit was led by Prof. Tzvetan Zlatanov of the
Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research with the
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, who has been studying the virgin
forests in the Balkan Range, Belasitsa, Vitosha, the Rhodopes,
Rila and Pirin in the last 20 years.    

Dountchev noted that just days ago, the EU presented its
Biodiversity Strategy, according to which Member States have to
protect 10 per cent of their old-growth forests in the next ten
years.     

"To date, Bulgaria has placed under protection 5 per cent of its
 virgin and old-growth forests, which makes it a leader in the
entire European Union. In Europe, an average of 1 to 2 per cent
of virgin forests are protected at the most, i.e. Bulgaria is
far ahead," he commented. A strategy for the remaining five per
cent is being drafted, aimed specifically at wetlands and nature
 parks.   

Dountchev said Bulgaria could easily implement this European
strategy because it has the potential and forests are well
preserved by the experts.    

Bulgaria's great advantage in this process is that 70 per cent
of its forests are State-owned, which makes for a prompt and
easy solution of the problem, Neli Doncheva of WWF Bulgaria
said. The remaining 30 per cent are municipal or private
property or are owned by religious denominations./NV/BR