Features of legal protection of some World Natural Heritage sites in Bulgaria

Abstract

The subject of the research in the framework of this article is the practice of Bulgaria's fulfillment of international obligations to protect such natural heritage sites as the Pirin National Park and the Srebyrna Nature Reserve. The features of the development of the ecological state of the specially protected natural territories under study are considered, the problems of their legal protection are identified, and the main measures that have allowed preventing the degradation of unique natural complexes, in particular, the application of the management plan for specially protected territories in the Republic of Bulgaria, are analyzed. The issues concerning the boundaries of the World Heritage sites under consideration and the procedure for their determination are investigated, the possibility of extending the buffer zone regime to the territories excluded from the World Heritage site Lake Baikal is assessed. The analysis of the experience of cooperation between the authorities of the Republic of Bulgaria and the World Heritage protection system in relation to the Pirin National Park and the Srebyrna Nature Reserve allows us to recognize the effectiveness of interaction between national and international means of nature protection. Using the comparative legal method of research, it is concluded that the positive experience of Bulgaria can be applied in solving the problems of protecting the World Heritage site Lake Baikal, including the establishment of a requirement at the level of law to prepare management plans. Based on the results of the analysis, the authors formulated recommendations for improving the domestic regulatory framework in the field of protection of World Heritage sites.