Zdrava Kotlina launches meetings with Strumica Basin residents against new mines

Environmental activists from the civic initiative Zdrava Kotlina have launched a series of community meetings across settlements in the Strumica Basin to warn residents about the potential consequences of opening new mines in the region and to review how those projects are reflected in the state’s draft spatial plan through 2040.

What the gatherings will cover

Organizers say the meetings are intended to give locals direct information about proposed mining operations — in particular the Ograzhden site and the Ilovica-Shtuka project — and to invite residents to join further campaigning against extraction in the basin.

At the sessions activists will explain the likely environmental and social impacts of mining and outline which measures and restrictions are contained in the draft spatial plan that runs to 2040.

Zdrava Kotlina also plans to help establish local citizen groups in individual villages; these groups will coordinate local activities and act as points of contact for the initiative.

The first meeting is scheduled for today, and Zdrava Kotlina is urging interested residents to attend and participate in the discussion.

The question of mining projects in the Strumica Basin and their place in future spatial planning continues to prompt reactions from civic organisations and local activists who are calling for a re-examination of the plan’s provisions concerning mineral resources and their exploitation.

Report: Suzana Miceva

Photo: press material from the event