A national afforestation campaign has been launched to plant 100 million trees by 2030. The initiative was announced by Deputy Prime Minister for Climate Policy and Minister of Environment and Water Borislav Sandov. Thus Bulgaria joins the European Commission’s campaign to plant 3 billion trees by 2030 in the EU.

Planting will be organized not only in forest areas, but along roads, in cities and suburban areas, as well as in areas that are agricultural. “This will be an open national campaign, for which I have the support of the prime minister and the government, I have received support from the president, the ombudsman, and civil society organizations that have been planting trees for many years. Last but not least – it is supported by the European Commission,” said Minister Sandov, adding that Bulgaria plants about 4 million trees a year, but the idea is to increase this number significantly.

Talks are already underway with state forest enterprises to provide planting material, and funding has been secured for the start of the campaign. Funds under the Operational Program “Environment” 2014-2021, which is not possible to utilize due to delayed projects, will be redirected to the afforestation campaign. “We will use funds that remain unspent due to the lack of action by the recent government. A few days ago I agreed to this prospect in Brussels and we have the consent of the European Commission to use 100 million BGN for the start of this campaign - for planting material, for the purchase of technical equipment, etc.,” said Minister Borislav Sandov.

“I hope that everyone who cares about nature and the future of Bulgaria will get involved. I am convinced that people will support the campaign because that is how we fight climate change in a natural way - by planting trees that absorb carbon dioxide. This is an important measure to combat climate change,” added Minister Sandov.

More on the “3 Billion Trees by 2030” initiative can be found at: https://ec.europa.eu/environment/3-billion-trees_en?etrans=en