West Stara Planina Mountain is the western section of the Balkan mountain range, which is among the most significant European centers of biodiversity. The border between Serbia and Bulgaria (about 150 km), for the most of its length goes along the crest of the main mountain range, where the highest summit is situated – Midzor (2,169 m).

 

Seven municipalities on the Bulgarian side, situated in these underdeveloped but exhibiting a variety of preserved natural resources regions builds the West Stara Planina region - municipalities of Berkovitsa, Belogradchik, Chiprovtsi, Varshetz, Chuprene, G. Damyanovo and Godech with population amounting approx. 70 000 people belong to two administrative units – Vidin and Montana. Both units are part of the Northwestern region of planning, being it a priority region for development according to the National Economic Development Plan.

 

Socio-demographic characteristics

In terms of socio-demographic characteristics some stable unfavorable tendencies can be identified. As a whole, the conditions and the social environment in the dwellings are unattractive. The small shares of those who expect their children to return to their native places confirm this thesis. Most of the identified characteristics are a limiting factor. All future activities in the region aiming at popularization of new ways of thinking and using the nature have to be adapted to the specific lifestyles and mentalities in the two countries.

·       Age – process of prevalence of people above working age can be observed. It is due mainly to the negative population growth and the migration of the young population from the villages to the cities – the average age in Bulgaria is 50 – 55 years.

·       Education – the share of people with basic education is high – in Bulgaria it amounts to 35% which is a purely rural sample.

·       Socio-psycological aspect – the prevailing part are indigenous inhabitants having a good knowledge of the region, patriarchal attitudes and small innovativeness. They preserve traditions and show rather moderate/feeble interest to more modern social enterprises. Due to the high average age the share of widowed/lonely people having rather pessimistic attitudes is also high.

·       Living conditions and infrastructure –The houses of 2% of the people are not connected to an asphalt-paved road. Generally, the households in the region inhabit newer and vaster lodgings; the average square surface of the lodgings is 85 m. sq., and they have been built averagely 40 years ago.

Professional profile

As a whole, the existing professional potential is inadequate to the real condition of the economy which draws as a consequence a high rate of unemployment and job transfer to other branches, different from the acquired profession. In all branches of the economy in the region the share of employment is lower than the share of qualified in the correspondent branch.

 

In the past the light industry has been the main branch in the region. Due to this reason one third of the local inhabitants are qualified in light industry spheres (30,4%) but 5% only are employed in this branch in present. Apparently the level of reception in this branch is high.

The qualification potential it the sphere of tourism is limited –professionals connected to agriculture and forestry are little represented - respectively 4,8% and 2,9%; there are almost no respondents with professions in the tourism sphere.

 

Income and sources of income of the households in the region

The incomes in the region are very low. The monthly income per person is 33 Euro in Bulgaria, which is twice lower than the minimal salary in Bulgaria (130 Leva or 65 Euro). Тhe average income per household member in households receiving social aid, due to their numerousness, is significantly lower than the average for the region (22 Euro monthly). Gathering of natural products is a some more noticeable source of income for 5,7% of the households. In the region this type of income is 64 Euro per person additional to the received salaries. The income from salaries is one of the highest, 112 Euro average for the region, which shows that the payment of the employed is better in this part.

Table 1:Average income of households in which the respondent is being employed in the correspondent sphere

Sphere	Bulgaria Euro
Finance	179
Agriculture	127
Public health	126
Military and police	122
Light industry	120
Education	116
Heavy industry	112
Trade and services	111
Government and administration	103
Transport	103
Forestry	92
Construction	92
Households with pensions	70
Households with social aids	70

 

 

The municipalities of the Western Stara Planina have some specific features that make them differ by income structure from the rest of the country’s regions. The economic situation of the households can be presented briefly as follows:

·         80% of the households have a single source of income which makes a distinct contrast to other regions in the country where usually about the half of the households have additional income from private farming.

·         Income from wages receive 45,6% of the households. These are mainly three member families, the average month income in such family is 112 Euro or 37 Euro average per person. Very seldom these families have a second income source – most often social aid (12,3 of the families), pensions (7,8%), many times fewer – help from abroad (2,8%), income from natural products gathering (1,2%) and other incomes (2,7%).

·         Dependence of the state’s social policy – it is a source of income for a greater number of households than wages are - a total of 59% live only of it (39% of the households receive income from pensions and 20,2% from social aids). This fact suggests that more than the half of the households exist in extremely heavy conditions close to poverty and starvation, taking into account the small size of social aids (about 40 BGN/20 Euro) and pensions which rarely exceed 100 BGN (50 Euro).

                - The households receiving social aid (20%) have been identified as a target group, because of their   profile. To the basic income sources they have most frequently income from natural products gathering and also help from relatives living abroad, private farming. These are multimember families (2/5 of them have four and five members), and more than 1/5 are of roma origin. Obviously they make much bigger efforts to survive than other types of households and are the most “aggressive” in their orientation to extra activities - mainly gathering of natural products.

 

Natural heritage, species and habitats

Analysis by different biological groups in Western Stara Planina shows very similar degree of endangerment for the region. Reptiles are the leaders in this negative trend, mammals rate third, birds fourth and mosses are the last. Close behind follow the higher plants. More distant in rating are only the amphibians, which rate fift.

There is considerable similarity in the assessment of negative impact factors affecting conservation important species (CIS). Of the direct-impact factors, the gravest threat poses extermination of the so-called harmful species, which most often are victims of prejudices. Here fall most predators (poisoned baits, cub snatching), bats (extermination of their colonies), owls (deliberate killing and destroying of nests), and snakes (deliberate killing). For his personal benefit man also destroys considerable parts of the populations of species from other groups: medicinal and decorative plants (complete depleting of the locations), fishes (by poisoning or electrocution), mosses (deliberate taking of the moss cover of the soil). In terms of threat, game shooting and angling have a stronger adverse effect than collection of wild plants and animals (reptiles and the young of falcons and other birds of pray). Of the six negative factors strongest affecting the habitats of the species, four are common for both sections of the mountains: destruction and significant change of habitats by man, agricultural practices, xerophytisation and cutting of old-growth forests. A shrinking trophic base of the wild animals is more often quoted for Bulgaria, and construction works for Serbia.

There are more differences in the assessment of impact factors by groups. For mammals, after shooting and extermination of the so-called harmful species, the strongest impact factors are: shrinking of the trophic base, destruction and change of habitats and agriculture, followed by water construction, roads and resorts, and the shrinking area of natural forests. Construction and industrial pollution are the main threats in the region for reptiles, followed by agriculture, change and destruction of habitats, aridization. For higher plants the impact factors are also close: collecting and destruction of populations, change and destruction of habitats, aridization of the phytoclimate, shrinking area of the old-growth forests, agriculture. Mosses are threatened strongest by the destruction and change of habitats, followed by cutting of old-growth forests, industrial pollution, aridization, and construction. Assessment of the threats of fishes shows as chief threats fishing, water contamination, hydro-constructions works, and hybridization of native populations with cultivated forms.