“I was allowed to do it” or about the forest of Samokov and the marks of irresponsibility
This article is created for the project “Efivos in Europe”
Author: Marian Minchev
Late April last year, a national protest was held to defend urban parks threatened by destruction – in Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Stara Zagora, Yambol, Pleven, and others. Samokov also participated with an action in Rido Park, organized by people who are part of the group “For the Forest of Samokov.” We wanted to show Bulgaria that Samokov also has a problem with its urban parks, and it is no less serious – there is a danger of illegal logging and destruction.
For about 20 years now, the forest around Samokov has been logged, but in the last year, it has been done in an utterly ruthless manner – entire sections of 15-20 trees disappear right up to the panoramic road of “Rido”; in other areas, the forest is set on fire to facilitate logging afterward. Not to mention the so-called legal logging, which often turns into something else entirely. The municipal forestry department shows absolutely no willingness to deal with the problem. We have all witnessed illegal logging, and we have all reported it to the emergency hotline 112, hoping someone would come to stop this criminal activity. Unfortunately, in many cases, no one shows up. And then the forestry authorities simply come and mark the illegally logged trees with red marks! These are actually marks of irresponsibility on the part of all institutions, whose employees we pay salaries to, hoping they will protect the forest and take care of it.
Two years ago, urgent measures were outlined by the Municipality to protect the forest around Samokov. Control checkpoints on the road to Ihtiman, on “Rido,” at the exit of Beli Iskar, and video surveillance were supposed to be restored. None of these measures were implemented. And the problem not only intensified but became chronic, and the situation started to look hopeless.
We, the participants in the “For the Forest of Samokov” group, ask: How long will we tolerate people without conscience and basic culture destroying the forest? How long will we trust politicians who won’t do anything to earn that trust? How long will we continue to say, “But nothing can be done…?”
The solutions are easy and don’t cost much: Municipal forestry employees should actually do their job – enter the forest and prevent illegal logging; police officers should get in their cars and respond immediately to every report of logging; the mayor should provide a report on how much forest has been destroyed in the past year, how many reports of illegal logging have been received, how many of them have been investigated, how many have been forwarded to the competent authorities, and how many of the perpetrators have been punished for their crimes; the Municipal Council should show willingness to work to solve the problem by providing funding for the most urgent measures to combat illegal logging.
We’re tired of taking pictures of cut trees, stumps, chainsaws, carts, and poachers who respond, “I was allowed to do it.”
If you’re also tired of this, join our Facebook group “For the Forest of Samokov.” Speak out, send signals, hold the responsible institutions accountable, show that you care about what you see. Because the forest of Samokov is a common wealth that should remain even after us.
The article was created as part of the CERV Efivos project in Europe. EFIVOS II program is funded by the European Commission (CERV), with partners Network Children’s Rights (Greece), CIP (Cyprus), HESED (Bulgaria), GEYC (Romania), Dedalus (Italy), Pacto Verde (Spain), Crossing Borders (Denmark).The support of the European Commission for the preparation of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the content. The publication reflects only the views of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use of the information contained therein.
