Underworld cavities, hidden away from curious glances and accessible only to a few well-prepared spelunkers hide mysteries that ignite imagination. This country is situated in an area, rich in caves and many cave species. Bulgaria’s speleology has 85 years of history and over those it has managed to collect data on some 6,000 caves, researching about 800 species from the underworld. However, scientists state that the latter still has surprises in store. That is one of the reasons why the Association of Speleology Clubs in Sofia has taken up the research of the karst area in the Godech Municipality. 25 years ago it was a hardly accessible border area, hence the lack of thorough surveys of local cave flora and fauna.

“Starting from Kalotina and ending up with Petrokhan, this whole part of the Balkan Range foothills is really rich in caves,” says Dr. Petar Beron, a zoologist and chair of the Bulgarian Speleology federation. “That is where some of the biggest and deepest caves can be found. Those haven’t been fully researched, despite the many years of working there. New digital maps should be prepared as those were mapped 50 years ago through old methods. The fauna of 10 caves is well known, but the project includes another 20 and even more will be most likely discovered during the researche. Traps and baits will be set there and we hope to find new animal species via those. Some of the underworld inhabitants are very interesting, even unique. One can find two endemic subspecies of the light-hating beetles, or Fagomycetes ledenicus. There are also very interesting cave leeches, as well as small crayfish, living in the underground waters. There is an endemic species that can be found only there…”

A monitoring of the bat colonies, a research of the fungal diversity in caves – these are also part of the research. It will take place within the frameworks of the project, named The Invisible Wealth of the Underworld, funded via the NGO Support Programme under the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism 2009 – 2014. 20 young spelunkers have been recruited for the field work and those will go through a special training for collection of organic speleological samples, for monitoring of cave-dwellers among bats, along with mapping and data capturing within the caves themselves. The info gathered this way will be united with the now existing in a digital database. The publishing of a special atlas in both Bulgarian and English is envisaged. Dr. Beron explains the importance of the adoption of a Law on Caves, which has been hanging in the air as of the 40^th parliament, in order for the preservation of this incredible natural wealth to be guaranteed. The unclear property of caves is one of the issues.

“We want the ownership of all caves in Bulgaria to become public–state,” Dr. Beron says. “This will happen with the adoption of the law. It will regulate both the responsibilities of the rangers in charge of the protection of such territories and also of the municipalities themselves. Fortunately, caves are not seriously harmed, but people throw scrap into the abysses, also dead animals. Trash doesn’t disappear without a trace in the underworld – underground waters, which circulate everywhere, may spread diseases amidst surrounding settlements. That is why caves need care and locals are about to learn this lesson step by step, as we envisage many different contacts of young researchers with them and especially with kids.”

Actions for cleaning the watercourses and caves in the area will be organized within the framework of the project with the involvement of the local community. The information gathered from the caves in the area of Godech will be used as a basis for the development of educational workshops for the young. Those will turn into a part of the constant program of the children’s museum in Sofia, which is to open doors in the summer of 2015.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev