THE IMPACT UPON NATURE

1. Destruction of habitats during construction

The most important and biologically diverse areas in the ravine of Kresna are situated in the gorge nearby the Struma River. The combination of arid slopes with water-rich habitats close to the river creates a beautiful mosaic of diverse habitats and is home to most of the wildlife in the region. This is the most important place for the breeding, migration and hibernation of a great number of species. Rare fauna species include: rapacious carp (it lives in the Struma River), eastern spadefood (rare frog species), the leopard snake, the aesculapian snake, a great variety of bat species, bird species, and otter among others. In addition, a great number of rare and protected habitats lie in the region: the river itself, natural gravel shores, nearby river forests of oriental plane trees, and arboreal juniper forests which gracefully tower over the nearby slopes.

Sadly, many of these habitats have already been destroyed during the construction of the current railway and the asphalt road. If a motorway is constructed in the narrow bed of the gorge, most of the natural habitats in the valley, which managed to precariously survive until now, will be destroyed forever. Such habitats will survive only in isolated islands within the side valleys.

The alternative route of the motorway completely avoids the valley of the Struma River as it passes through the plateau-like west slopes of the Pirin Mountain at an altitude of 600 meters. Much of the fauna of the region (bats, amphibians, most of the reptiles, and birds), dependant on the unique ecosystem of the river valley, are rarely found in these upper areas. Most of the rare Mediterranean species (the four-lined snake, cat snake, warm snakes), still found on these dry slopes due to the warm temperatures, can only be seen below the altitude of 500 meters. Among all rare and protected species, there are only two kinds of terrestrial tortoises that can still be found above 500 meters. However, their number is also very small. Compared to the gorge area, overall biodiversity is substantially less above 500m.
The motorway is also designed so that it does not affect the rock massifs and the nesting birds. It passes through a number of tunnels and viaducts and crosswise through the side valleys. Most of the areas affected are already significantly influenced by human activities. The flora in the region consists mainly of lawns and artificial cultures of Austrian pine. Bushes and pubescent oak are rarely found.

2. Animal slaughter and influence upon the migration routes.

The River Struma is a very important corridor for the seasonal and the long-term migrations of plants, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, bats and mammals in the South - North direction. Aristhotelus described the corridor in ancient times as one of the most important routes for the migration of birds and his sentiments still hold true today. This migration, however, is concentrated in the lower reaches of the gorge nearby the river. Thus, the location of the current road there is often fatal for them. Thousands of insects, birds and bats crash into the trucks barreling down the road every day.

Road traffic also kills those animals that live permanently in the gorge and periodically move upwards the slopes: tortoises, snakes, lizards, frogs, voles, dormouses, hedgehogs, etc. Most of these small animals are helpless when they find themselves on the asphalt. Since the steep road cuts a deep swath into the plateau, often animals fall of a ledge into danger and are completely helpless to escape. Such bevels now take span about 50% of the whole length of the gorge. In addition to the great number of tortoises, there are many other rare and protected species falling victim to oncoming traffic: the leopard snake, the four-lined snake, the aesculapian snake, the warm snake, the cat snake, and the eastern spadefood. The nesting birds and the bats in the region, with their colonies extremely close to the road, are also threatened. The stone-martens, foxes and otters also faced grave peril as they feed on the killed animals during the night.

The construction of the motorway through the gorge will increase the animal slaughter many times and both variations spell disaster to the wild inhabitats of the gorge. If the new route passes through low viaducts constructed over the river, it will most strongly affect the death rate of the insects, birds and bats. A road built to expand the current road will fare no better as the whole gorge will become completely inaccessible and, together with the intensified traffic, it will cause nearly a 100% death rate of the non-flying animals in the valley. Probably most of the species that live in the gorge will disappear, and others will be preserved only on isolated islands in the side valleys. The gorge will become a lethal barrier for all migrating animals in the North - South direction.

The intensified traffic and the wide roadway will also turn into a considerable barrier for the migration of large mammals, including the bear, the wolf, the jackal, etc. The gorge now is a main biological bridge for them, which connects Pirin Mountain with the Border Mountains in the west.

The alternative route outside of the gorge completely avoids the main migration route, situated along the valley of the Struma River. Rare animal species that live in the valley and on the side slopes are not found at an altitude higher than 600 meters anymore. The side valleys also form an important biological corridor, but the motorway passes through them via viaducts so that the animals can safely migrate along them. The slaughter of the tortoises can be avoided by construction of special facilities that pass under the roadway. Not only will the needless killing be substantially less than either alternative routes, but also much less than our current situation.
The biological corridors will not be affected, and the current situation will improve. Furthermore, 54% of the motorway will consist in tunnels and viaducts, which will guarantee the migration of the large mammals.

3. Noise and pollution

The examination of sensitive organisms, which indicate the influence of air polluters, demonstrates that the contamination from the current road affects all the slopes facing the Struma River at up to 2 kilometers away from the road. The noise from the whizzing trucks can be heard on the slopes above the current road at an altitude of hundreds of meters. The construction of the motorway through the heart of the gorge will considerably increase these impacts.

Even if constructed outside of the gorge, the motorway will still be noisy and will contaminate, but it will be far from the gorge, the significant habitats and the areas important for the biological diversity conservation.

4. Protected areas

The Tissta Reserve is situated in the south end of the gorge. It consists of one strict and one buffer zone. The strict zone is situated on the slopes of the gorge, and the buffer zone includes the valley itself and the river. The current road passes through the buffer zone. The motorway can be constructed through the gorge only if it passes through the reserve, which is a gross violation of the Bulgarian protected area legislation

The alternative outside of the gorge passes 2 kilometers away from the reserve.

THE IMPACT UPON PEOPLE

1. Contamination and noise in the residential places.

A motorway through the gorge means that the trucks will pass at a distance of 200-250 meters from the houses of the villages of Cherniche (situated in the West, in parallel to the railway and the road) and the village of Poleto (East to the road), and 550 meters away from the town of Krupnik. Most affected will be the town of Kresna -the roadways will either have to pass through the town itself, or at the bottom of the Melo Sand Hill, 30 meters away from the densely inhabited residential parts of the town and from its school. There are 4,500 residents who live in the town of Krupnik, and 3,500 in Kresna. According to the Environmental Impact Assessment Report, introduced by the Road Executive Agency in the Ministry of Environment and Waters, when there is a maximum traffic at nighttime, there will be overrate noise contamination at a distance of 400 meters away from the motorway. This means that around 70% of the residents of the town of Kresna and the village of Chernichane will be affected and a smaller but still significant percentage of people from the village of Poleto will be affected as well.

All the settlements in the region of the motorway will be exposed to dust pollution, and contamination from hydrocarbons, nitrous oxides, ozone.

2. Agricultural lands

The most fertile of the agricultural lands in the region are situated in the river valleys - alongside the Struma River and in the wider side valleys. The motorway through the gorge will inevitably destroy or contaminate the lands, the gardens and the vineyards in the site of Gabrovnitsa and next to the railway station Peio Yavorov in the valley of the Struma River, in the valley of the river Vlahina, at the bottom of the Melo Sand Hill - the most fertile and arable agricultural lands of the town of Kresna.

The alternative route for the motorway passes through areas where there are little arable lands. Most of the sites are covered with artificial forest of Austrian pine. Small territories of pastures will be affected. The pastures, however, are much more extensive than the arable lands and the damage to the local economy will be negligible.

3. Tourism development

The motorway through the gorge will totally exclude the possibility for the development of village, cognitive or other forms of tourism in the region.

Diverting the transit traffic outside of the gorge will only improve the possibilities for tourism development. Most of the territories in the gorge, which are now exposed to contamination and strong noise, will be relieved from the impact of the transit traffic. The road through the gorge will be only of local and touristic importance. The whole territory of the gorge and the mountains in the direction of the Macedonian border will have the possibility to form a nature park, offering a variety of tourist services, independent from the east link with the territory of the Pirin National Park. The town of Kresna can become one of the main centers for this area. The link with the high parts of Pirin will not be significantly affected. The tourist routes in this direction will cross the motorway in such places where the motorway goes through tunnels and viaducts.

The motorway will not affect most of the mountain villages situated on the slopes of the Pirin Mountain - the villages of Brezhani, Senokos, Oshtava, Vlahi. These villages will have the opportunity to develop as tourist centers in the contact zone between the Kresna Nature Park and the Pirin National Park.

The opportunities for the development of the other three villages in this direction will unfortunately not be as bright - the villages of Rakitna, Mechkul and Old Kresna. But unlike the proposed route through the gorge, the effect of the noise contamination can be significantly decreased through the construction of the noise protecting walls.