The new plan which proposed construction in two-thirds of the park and logging in half of it was definitively ruled to be illegal ending three years of legal battle.
The ruling came due to the plan’s omission of environmental and Natura 2000 impact assessments and will impact enforcement of environmental protection in the country positively. Pirin has exceptionally beautiful mountain scenery and glacial lakes, and is an example of a healthy, functioning Balkan uplands ecosystem. It is also home to 1,300 year-old endemic Bosnian pine tree (Baykusheva mura) – believed to be the oldest on the Balkan peninsula apart from being a site of great biodiversity.
To read more about the Pirin National Park, log on to Emerging Europe.