During the UN High-level Conference “Water for Sustainable Development” at the UN headquarters in New York, the Minister of Environment and Water Rositsa Karamfilova participated in the general debate on the review of the implementation of the goals of the International Decade of Action “Water for Sustainable Development” 2018-2028.

“Sustainable water management is a dynamic goal that should take into account both the developments of the modern world and environmental changes. To respond to these dynamics adequately and effectively, we need to consider the relations between water conservation and use, climate change, biodiversity loss, soil degradation, pollution, managing weather-related risks, and address the related challenges in an integrated way”, said Minister Karamfilova and noted that this creates good conditions for cooperation and partnerships between the interested parties.

She emphasized that the established good institutional and regulatory framework, as well as the effective implementation in Bulgaria of the integrated approach in water resources and flood risk management, are essential in the country’s efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals related to water.

Minister Karamfilova presented Bulgaria’s progress in implementing the goals of the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development” 2018-2028 and the work on priority activities in the water sector. She emphasized on continuing the modernization of the water infrastructure and achieving a sufficiently good level of water protection and sustainable use in order to guarantee permanent access to a sufficient amount of quality water for the well-being of the population and socio-economic development, maintaining livelihoods, preventing water pollution and protecting ecosystems.