Tourism flights in Mountain regions

Tourist flights in mountain regions spoil their attractiveness through noise pollution. They also undermine the ethical basis for many mountain activities. Read our position paper on tourist flights here.

Ski resort threatens national park in Serbia

The development of a large ski resort in Serbia is threatening the flora and fauna of the country’s largest national park. The Association for the Conservation and Sustainable Development of Stara Planina is protesting against the construction of the new ski resort inside the Stara Planina National Park. They say that the construction is in violation of six Serbian laws as well as international environmental conventions signed by Serbia. The UIAA supports local organisations in their protests.

You can find a photo gallery with pictures of the park and the construction work here.

Stara Planina Nature Park is the largest conservation area in Serbia with the highest level of protection. It was declared a nature park in 1997 to protect the natural and geological heritage, gene pool, rare species and ecosystem diversity of Serbia and the Balkan Peninsula. The park possesses mountain peat meadows - one of the rarest and most vulnerable ecosystems in the world. It is also the home of many rare protected species, including the Winged Bell flower, which was only discovered 16 years ago and has nearly become extinct. Nine plant species which grow in Stara Planina are on the IUCN endangered list. There are also rare birds and mammals in the park, including the nearly extinct Snow Vole. learn more...

Ski Resort in Rila National Park, Bulgaria

If you visit Rila national park in Bulgaria you will not only see beautiful lakes and the highest mountain of the Balkans, but large machinery disfiguring the landscape, turning wilderness into a ski resort.

Bulgarian nature conservation organisations have united under the name “Let nature remain in Bulgaria” to stop the development. They claim that the investors are pressuring the government to ignore environmental protection and let them build a large scale ski resort with 21 slopes. The resort would cover 240 hectares, two-thirds of which would be inside the National Park.

On January 21, 2008 the World Wildlife Fund submitted a position paper on behalf of eight international NGOs, including the UIAA, to four Bulgarian Institutions (Parliament Chairman, Parliamentary Commission on Environment and Water, Ministry of the Environment and the State Forest Agency).  Read more on the WWF website

Two days later Citizens for Rila and an NGO coalition organised a march in Sofia. This was done to mark that one year had passed since they submitted 50,000 signatures in support of a petition titled, "So that Nature remains in Bulgaria". People were dressed as mountain climbers, skiers and tourists and wore headlamps. "We carry headlights to bring light to Bulgarian authorities, who often seem to make deals in the dark,” said Tsvetan Kosturkov, one of the organisers.   Learn more and see pictures from the event here

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