Bulgarian National Parks Vocational High School of Veterinary Medicine “Prof. d-r George Pavlov”, Dobrich, Bulgaria Bulgaria has three National Parks - Pirin, Rila and Central Balkan

Bulgarian National Parks They have a total area of 193,049 hectares and comprise more than one-third of all protected areas in Bulgaria. The National Parks belong to the state. They are public property. They are managed and administered by Directorates, operating under the Ministry of environment and waters

Conservation Management Pirin, Rila and Central Balkan are among the largest and most valuable protected areas in Europe. They contain some of Europe’s remaining, extant, wild regions. Identified as Category II protected areas by the World Conservation Union, the Parks are managed in accordance with the latest conservation principles and approaches. The Management Plans for Rila and Central Balkan are the first modern conservation management documents of their kind in the Balkans.

Bulgarian National Parks Fauna Bulgaria has more animal species within its territory than any other country in Europe. The three National Parks encompass habitats and natural environments necessary for the survival of many of these species. Bulgaria’s National Parks are home to more than 4,000 invertebrate species, a quarter of which are of high conservation significance. Over 300 vertebrates reside in Rila, Pirin and Central Balkan National Parks. Some of the most significant populations of large mammals in Bulgaria and Europe live here. These include the Balkan chamois, brown bear, wolf, and red deer. Twenty-five species of smaller mammals also live in Park territory. Over 200 vertebrate species are protected under both Bulgarian and international law: 67% of all species of fishes, amphibians and reptiles are of high conservation significance. 90% of all bird species are of high conservation significance. Bulgaria has 30 bat species (the second largest number in Europe); 60% of these are found within Bulgaria’s three National Parks and all are protected under Bulgarian and international law.

‘This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.’