Kresna Gorge, butterflies... and a motorway

The butterflies living in the picturesque Kresna Gorge can be considered threatened. The Bulgarian government plans to build the so-called Struma Motorway in the period of 2010—2020 and this will cause, by no means, a negative impact on the wildlife there.

So, what is the problem? The main problem is that part of the habitats will be destroyed if the planned motorway passes through the gorge. It is clear that, urbanisation, in this case building of roads, is one of the anthropogenic factors harmful to butterflies.

Kresna Gorge is extremely rich in butterflies; a 120 species have been recorded. This represents about 57% of all the Bulgarian butterfly fauna. Of special importance is the occurrence of 6 species included as threatened in the Red Data Book of European Butterflies, and a number of other rare and unique species, associated with arid habitats. The Sandy Grizzled Skipper (Pyrgus cinarae), Krueper’s Small White (Pieris krueperi), Little Tiger Blue (Tarucus balkanica), Freyer’s Grayling (Hipparchia fatua), White-banded Grayling (Pseudochazara anthelea) are good examples.

Starting from 1997 until now there has been a continuous NGO campaign against the construction of the motorway and for the development of acceptable alternatives. Currently Bulgarian environmentalists are working on the issue of proclaiming the entirety of the Kresna Gorge as a protected area.