Letter to: FIS President Mr. Gian Franco Kasper, FIS Vice President Mr. Yoshiro Ito, FIS Secretary General Ms. Sarah Lewis, FIS Chief Race Director Mr. Gunter Hujara, Members of the FIS Council, FIS Headquarters.

Dear Sirs,

We approach you as representatives of National Civil Coalition "Environment for the People and Regions", which unites the efforts of the Bulgarian municipalities of Bansko, Razlog, Smolyan, Samokov, and Sapareva banya and NGOs for sustainable development of the regions developing winter and summer mountain tourism while taking into account both local environmental and economic factors. We feel obliged to respond to the allegations made by the Bulgarian Association for Alternative Tourism and the legal analysis prepared by For the Nature in Bulgaria Coalition, sent to you earlier this week.

Banderitsa - Alberto Tomba ski slope, Bansko ski area, 25.05.2010

We would like to point out that we are familiar with this analysis. It was uploaded on the website of For the Nature in Bulgaria Coalition several months ago. It was prepared in connection with a reactive monitoring mission ofUNESCO/IUCN that was scheduled for October this year.

We met personally with the members of this mission, Mr. Kishore Rao, Director of the World Heritage Centre, and Mr. Stig Johansson, Regional Vice-Chair of IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas. Mr. Rao and Mr. Johansson also met with representatives of the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water, the Mayors of Bansko and Razlog Mr. Kravarov and Mr. Gerchev, the Member of Parliament Mr. Ikonomov, and the ski zone designer Mr. Lekov. In an interview for the most respected Bulgarian newspaper "24 chasa" (issue from 13/10/2011, p.l0) the Mayor of Bansko, Mr. Kravarov, stated that Mr. Rao had been shown the spatial plans of the ski zone in order to see for himself that no construction works had been carried out outside the delineated zone. He also remarked that according to Mr. Rao UNESCO was not against development of Bansko ski zone. Mr. Ikonomov added that the capacity of the cabin lift was too small and as a result people used their cars to get to the mountain, and that a second cabin lift line had to be constructed.

During our meeting Mr. Johansson, an expeli: monitoring the management of 27 nature parks further added that his observations of the facilities in the ski zone were positive. He remarked that replacement of ski facilities had been made in a proper, environmental-friendly manner, and no visible damages were caused to the surrounding terrain.

For the Nature Coalition is the environmental coalition that lodged 38 claims against the development of Bansko ski zone with the Bulgarian Administrative Court. All claims were for violation of environmental and construction legislation and all were dismissed as unfounded. All facilities in Bansko ski zone that have been constructed and rehabilitated are in full compliance with all applicable legal and administrative acts. All facilities are envisaged in a general spatial development plan of Bansko ski zone. They do not violate the Management Plan of Pirin because all facilities are located within the area envisaged by said Plan for construction of buildings and facilities and tourism development (including skiing), which represents 3.3% of the territory of Pirin. Spatial development of the ski area does not affect direcdy areas with limited and strict regimen of activities, and even allows for designation of buffer zones that contribute to more effective conservation of ecosystems. For each intervention all the documentation required by law - building permits under the Spatial Planning Act, issued by the Mayor of Bansko Mr. Kravarov, and Assessments of Compatibility issued by the Ministry of Environment and Water has been obtained.

Banderitsa - Alberto Tomba ski slope, Bansko ski area, 25.05.2010

In our opinion the letter of BAAT is a feeble attempt to discredit the upcoming FIS ALPINE SKI WORLD CUP 2011/12 races, eagerly awaited by the local communities and Bulgaria as a whole. Furthermore, photos provided in the legal analysis are old. They have been taken during construction works and do not represent the current condition of the area. Please find herewith enclosed a photo of "Banderitsa - Alberto Tomba" ski run from August 2011 showing the result of restoration works, together with a detailed analysis and proposal prepared and sent by us to the Prime Minster Mr. Boyko Borisov, and the Director-General of UNESCO, Mrs. Irina Bokova.

Chalin Valog ski slope, Bansko ski area

Should you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Respectfully yours,

Philip Tsanov
Chairman of National Civil Coalition Environment for the People and Regions
21 October 2011

  Tweet