The Black Sea area of Irakli-Emine will remain construction-free for another year as the Environment Minister Djevdet Chakurov extended the ban on July 27. The ordinance affects 3800 ha of land falling within the European Union's Natura 2000 regulations. Environmentalists say that the ban will protect endangered species and habitats for a third consecutive year.

The first state ordinance was issued in July 2006 as a result of vigorous public reaction to then-announced plans for the building of holiday villages in Irakli. Far removed from big resorts such as Slunchev Bryag (Sunny Beach) and Zlatni Pyasutsi (Golden Sands), Irakli boasts clean and beautiful beaches, and was traditionally known and preferred by many tourists for its camping site.

An interesting element of the case remained the fact that in April 2006, while signing the ordinance into effect, Chakurov also encouraged the Cabinet to vote on an additional draft of proposed changes to the law. He envisioned an area of 100 ha, a part of Natura 2000 territories, to be consigned for exploration by a company supplying construction materials, according to Dnevnik daily. After wide publicity surrounding the issue, Chakurov withdrew the proposal. 

 After two years of protests in an attempt to prevent the build-up of Irakli, activists from To Sustain Nature in Bulgaria coalition sent a complaint to the European Commission in February 2008. At the time, the EC requested additional information to determine whether there was a violation of the European legislation.

The environmentalists presented data showing that until May 2007, most of the dense forest, thriving along the Vaya River, has been cut down by order of Disaster Management Ministry (DMM). They comprised 30 per cent of the dense forest in the Irakli-Emine area, protected by Natura 2000. The ministry defended the idea with the argument that this was a way to deal with the flood damages that occurred in the summer of 2006 as well as to prevent future disasters, Dnevnik daily reported. The course of the river has been diverted from its natural riverbed to a man-made one.

Back in 2006, within close proximity to Vaya River, the construction of Riverside Village holiday resort began, facilitated by the investor Swiss Properties. Construction work ceased while the first year-long ban from 2006 was in effect, then resumed again when the ban expired. Environmentalists staged mass protests in favour of Irakli, which prompted Chakurov to issue a second ordinance effective until August 2008, banning further construction.

However, the Swiss Properties land plot was pulled out of the ordinance to allow local municipalities to include environmentally hazardous construction projects in their master development plans and legalise them. According to Dnevnik, the EC rejected the decision as illegitimate, and the Cabinet was forced to include the Riverside Village plot in the Natura 2000 parameters.

In January 2008, the building was banned by the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Waters in Bourgas for not presenting a thorough evaluation of compliance with Natura 2000 regulations, Dnevnik daily reported. Construction was frozen until the evaluation was completed.

A Swiss Properties manager was quoted by Dnevnik as saying that problems arise because there are no clear regulations to determine under what conditions construction is possible within the protected areas. Irakli features 107 private properties spread on 75 ha, and most owners would like to build family houses, but activists prevent them, the manager said, speculating that environmental organisations are motivated by the possibility of embezzling European funds allowed for managing Natura 2000 zones.

On the other side, activists reported to the EC that in 2007 more than 40 building permits had been issued. Presumably, only a small number of them will have an eco-evaluation of the impact the construction work would have on the environment.

In mid-June, the EC responded to the activists' inquiries that it was not within the commission's competency to take legal actions against Bulgaria. The main argument stated was the fact that construction of the projects had begun prior to the country's accession in January 2007. The EC is expected to deliver its final decision in September 2008.

Within a month of this EC announcement, environmentalists could present additional information regarding the discussed areas, and prove that construction there was illegal.

According to Toma Belev, chairperson of the Green Balkans federation, the Ministry of Environment and Water Affairs had submitted misleading data to the EC. Belev has been quoted by Dnevnik daily as saying that the state was obliged to protect all areas qualifying for Natura 2000, but that has not happened so far.

Meanwhile, the administrative court revoked an ordinance imposed by the Nessebar municipality prohibiting camping on the Irakli beaches. At the beginning of May, Nessebar council members voted that tent pitching at the protected area should be illegal and violators should be fined up to 5000 leva.

The court ruled that tents could not possibly undermine the cleanliness and established order of the area and that tourists should be able to enjoy their holiday in the way they so choose.