Controversial Forestry Act to Be Discussed in Bulgaria

Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov has expressed his hopes that environmentalists and lawmakers will reach a general agreement at the roundtable. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria's Parliament is to host a roundtable discussion on Tuesday on the country's amended Forestry Act that was recently vetoed by President Rosen Plevneliev.

The discussion will aim at reaching consensus on the Forestry Act's most debated texts.

Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov has expressed his hopes that environmentalists and lawmakers will reach a general agreement at the roundtable, the Bulgarian National Radio says.

A new environmental rally is to be staged at 6:30 pm on Tuesday starting at the capital Sofia's Orlov Most (Eagles Bridge). The rally is to end in front of the Parliament.

Thousands of Bulgarian eco activists and other citizens opposing the Forestry Act staged protest rallies in the area of the key intersection of Orlov Most (Eagles Bridge) in Sofia for a week after the Parliament passed the amendments on June 13.

The protesters argued that the legislation, which radically eases cutting down public forests for the construction of private sports facilities, serves the interests of the oligarchy and would be deleterious for Bulgarian nature. They demanded that investors pay for changing the statute of the land in order to obtain construction rights.

In the aftermath, Bulgarian President, Rosen Plevneliev issued a veto on all Forestry Act texts.

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