BIA’S POSITION ON THE FOREST CONVERSION

The Managing Board of the Bulgarian Industrial Association expresses strong concern about the lack of effective control in the forest conversion of land from the national state stock, which has impinged serious damages on the country. 300 transactions have been carried out during the existence of the law with 33 000 decares of state forest land; more than 8000 decares have now a changed form of land-use. 

There is an immediate danger of considering this conversion an illegal state subsidy. Furthermore, this presents a risk in which the state budget will have to pay the EC the difference in the price, due to lack of legal mechanisms to gather it from the beneficiaries.

Having in mind that the forest lands are a national capital which should not be squandered easily, and searching for greater transparency in the Bulgarian administration activities:

• We insist that the legal provisions stipulated in the Forestry Act, Article 156 (15), be enforced, with regard to the public announcement of all orders concerning such conversion, including full beneficiaries’ data.

• We are willing to participate in the development of a reliable mechanism for effective control of the conversion of state and municipal property.