REGIONAL PLANING IN FORESTRY SECTOR IN BULGARIA THROUGH FOREST TERRITORIES’ REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS

Abstract

Forest planning in Bulgaria is carried out at three levels – national, regional and local. The national planning includes a National strategy for the development of the forestry sector and a Strategic plan for the development of the forestry sector. The regional planning includes the Regional development plans of the forest territories (RDPFT), and the local planning level includes forest management plans and programs irrespective of the ownership, including state, municipal, of various physical and legal persons, forest owners. RDPFT are strategic planning documents that define forest and hunting management guidelines by category of forests at regional and municipal level, in line with the requirements of the regional development strategies of the respective region or area. In general, in Art. 12 of the Forest Act (2011) the duration of the RDPFT is defined, namely 10 years as well as their content: an unified forest map database of the forest territories; functional zoning of the forest territories; zones protected from urbanization, as well as the objectives of the management of the forest territories and hunting.

The present study analyzes the legislative framework regulating the regional forest planning. The content, the approach and the way for the elaboration of the regional development plans of the forest territories, their harmonization with the regional development strategies under the Regional Development Act, as well as their importance for the development of the regions, have been examined. A review has been made on the progress in the respective field, taking into account the past eight years after the introduction of the Regional Forest Planning with the Forest Act, and the results of the first three developed RDPFT of Smolyan, Montana and Dobrich Regions. Conclusions and suggestions have been made.