I am convinced that there is a public need to separate the forestry sector into an independent department with its own responsibilities. Bulgaria is still an example of the state of forests in Europe and in the future they will perform more and more public functions related to severe climate disasters, said Assoc. Prof. Hristo Mihaylov, Rector of the University of Forestry, in an interview with the Bulgarian National Radio.
Together with the Chairman of the Federation for Agriculture and Forestry at the "Podkrepa" Confederation of Forestry, Anelia Ivanova commented on the "Predi visi" program of the Bulgarian National Radio on the need to separate forests from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the problems of the forestry sector and the dissatisfaction of forestry employees for higher salaries.
As an argument for the unfair payment of forestry employees, who are demanding a 30% salary increase and protesting, Assoc. Prof. Mihaylov pointed out that the foresters are on the ground together with the firefighters to put out the forest fires.
"I don't oppose them, but the firefighters receive additional pay, and the foresters are there for moral reasons and no one pays them for overtime and for something they are not obliged to do", he said.
According to him, the state authorities must quickly and urgently take urgent measures to regulate these processes and smooth out this injustice:
"The entire sector is subject to reorganization. The general issue is that in Bulgaria the path of enterprises is that they have turned forest holdings into intermediaries between state property and logging contractors. We have 16 regional directorates that exercise control. Bulgaria is a unique country, we have a natural monopoly on state forests and the state does not know how to manage them."
He pointed out that Minister Tahov is completely neglecting the problem of forests and the forestry sector.
The trade unionist Anelia Ivanova is of the same opinion.
According to her, the main problem is that when there was good sales of wood, we had additional incentives and "the issue of overtime, which is not paid to forest workers during fires, was not raised":
"We insist that the state, when it has assigned public functions - firefighting or preventive activities, pay for them from the budget. I do not believe that when the forest is burning, the forest workers will protest."
She pointed out that the problem is the regulation by which wages are formed. And it turns out that forest department heads receive high salaries, unlike employees.
"The need for an independent forest department in itself is not only the use of wood, this activity will lag behind, but public functions must be under state management. And I am sure that the state will support us", hopes Assoc. Prof. Mihaylov, who in 2021, under the Minister of Agriculture Bozukov, launched the separation of forests from the Ministry of Forestry.
And what the status of this separate forest department will be is a matter of dialogue. The sector dreams of having a Ministry of Forestry, but they would also be satisfied with a state forest agency that would be under the Council of Ministers, conduct an independent forest policy and be the primary spender of budget money.
"Some of the problems currently on the agenda have accumulated and are related to finances, but remain unheard. The administrative staff in state-owned enterprises is bloated. Ladybugs dominate! Millions of leva for administrative expenses are ineffective. Because politics has entered the forestry sector, where the wood for the local population is - a resource that is not inventoried at the national level. You can never account for what is used. Ladybugs are appointed to management positions and turn a blind eye to abuses through the draining of resources. The forestry sector has become a profitable, sweet business at the local level with ladybugs," commented the rector of LTU.