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Overview
Located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Bulgaria
is a country of great natural and cultural diversity.
With topography ranging from the undulating hills of
the Thracian Plain, to the Mediterranean character of
the Black Sea Coast, to the snowy peaks of the Balkan
Mountains, Bulgaria exhibits a rich array of microclimates
that provide a home for hundreds of species. Bulgaria's
ecological cornucopia boasts 94 species of mammals,
383 species of birds, 36 species of reptiles, 16 species
of amphibians, 207 species of fish, and thousands of
species of invertebrates, plants and fungi. Bulgaria
is also one of Europe's most important habitats for
the brown bear, the wolf and the Balkan chamois, and
provides shelter for migratory birds traversing the
Africa-European flyway known as the Via Pontica. Protected
areas constitute 4.5% of Bulgaria's total territory,
and the country's Nature Protection Act safeguards the
natural resource base in these areas.
With
a wealth of natural resources and a relatively stable
political history, Bulgaria has achieved important advances
in institutional and policy development since the collapse
of communism in 1989, and has been spared some of the
most severe effects of the armed conflicts that have
taken place in South Eastern Europe in recent years.
As Bulgaria makes strides towards European Union accession
in 2007, already having achieved NATO accession in 2004,
the pace of privatization and development are placing
increasing pressure on natural resources. Balancing
economic growth with natural resource conservation will
be a major challenge for Bulgaria in the coming years.
Threats
to the Resource Base
Approximately one third of Bulgaria's land base is forested,
with coniferous and broadleaf (deciduous) forests predominating
at different altitudes. Afforestation and cautious utilization
have increased the country's forested area in recent
years, adding about 204 square kilometers between 1990
and 2000 (World Bank World Development Indicators).
However, Bulgaria's forests remain threatened by the
long-lasting impacts of heavy industry, and the increasing
resource demands of privatization and development. Key
concerns include air pollution from industrial emissions;
river pollution from raw sewage, heavy metals, and detergents;
forest damage from air pollution and resulting acid
rain; and soil contamination from metallurgical plants
and industrial wastes.
Why
Does the USDA Forest Service Work in Bulgaria?
Following the severe fire season in 2000, the U.S. Department
of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development
contacted the U.S. Forest Service to request technical
assistance. In January 2001, a USDA Forest Service Assessment
Team traveled to Bulgaria, under funding by the Agency
for International Development's Office of US Foreign
Disaster Assistance. The team recommended a three-tier
approach to building Bulgaria's fire response capacity:
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- Provide
basic equipment for 300 initial attack fire
fighters,
- Host
a study tour for upper management in the Ministry
of Defense Civil, Protection Agency, focusing
on mobilization, inter-agency and international
cooperation, and on-scene management systems
in the U.S.
- Provide
training to support a focused fire prevention
program, including courses in wildfire cause
determination, fire prevention, and the basic
incident command system.
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Wildland Fire Management
As a result of these recommendations, the
USDA Forest Service implemented a 3-year program to
build Bulgaria's capacity to fight wildfires with new
equipment, training, and technical exchanges. The USAID's
Mission in Sofia, Bulgaria, has provided a total
of $250,000 in funding in support of this program.
Throughout
the summer of 2002, the USDA
Forest Service, in partnership with the US
Bureau of Land Management, improved wildfire preparedness
in Bulgaria by providing operations and safety equipment
for Bulgarian firefighters. The equipment was consigned
to the Civil
Protection Agency for onward distribution to the
Ministry
of Interior National Fire and Emergency Safety Service,
the Ministry
of Environment and Water, and the Ministry
of Agriculture and Forestry for use during subsequent
fire seasons.
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In
August 2002, three Bulgarian wildfire specialists participated
in a study tour to Idaho and California, lead by a USDA
Forest Service Type-1 Incident Commander. The group
studied the basic principles of domestic wildfire management
in the United States, including interagency coordination,
and on-site management empowered by decentralized decision-making.
The participants had an opportunity to analyze and discuss
how these principles and systems can be adapted in Bulgaria.
In
November 2002, two cadres of USDA Forest Service instructors
completed two separate training courses for Bulgarian
technical specialists. In the courses, two inter-ministerial
groups of wildfire specialists learned the tools and
techniques of wildfire cause determination and burned
area emergency rehabilitation (BAER). The course
instructors staged exciting "live fire" field
exercises to demonstrate key wildfire management principles,
followed by several days of classroom instruction. Additional
training courses included Incident Command System (ICS)
training and wildfire prevention training.
Final
project activities will be completed in 2005, with the
procurement of additional radio equipment for use by
Bulgarian firefighters.
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