The Deputy Prime Minister for Climate Policy and Minister of Environment and Water Borislav Sandov participated in a stakeholder meeting on the BULADAPTECOS project “Ecosystem approach to climate change adaptation and flood risk management in the East Aegean region of Bulgaria”. The meeting in Plovdiv was attended by the mayor of the city Zdravko Dimitrov, the executive director of the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria, the project manager, mayors of the partner municipalities, and experts.

The project is at an advanced stage of evaluation within the LIFE program system and is aimed at implementing the National Strategy for Climate Change Adaptation until 2030 through specific activities in the East Aegean River Basin - the second largest and most climate-diverse river basin in Bulgaria. It is essential that the project is multi-regional and will affect all 81 municipalities and 1688 villages that are within the scope of the East Aegean River Basin.

Minister Borislav Sandov congratulated the team and the project partners and emphasized the leading role of the Municipality of Plovdiv. “I believe that the measurable results of this project have the potential to be multiplied throughout the country and have a pronounced cross-border impact. This project is a pilot for Bulgaria and can motivate other municipalities to take concrete actions,” he said.

Mayor Zdravko Dimitrov assessed the project as a leading one in the environmental field: “Through it we will have the opportunity to do large-scale afforestation, restore biodiversity along the river, and reduce the risk of flooding,” he said.

During the meeting, a unified geographic information system and database for climate change adaptation was presented, which will be developed as part of the project. It will collect data on management decisions from the responsible institutions and will build an educational and information platform to inform the public and stakeholders about the risks associated with climate change adaptation, including the risk of disasters.

Currently, in Bulgaria BULADAPTECOS is the only integrated project for climate change adaptation with a budget of 19 million EUR to finance activities of the ten partner municipalities - Plovdiv, Kazanlak, Belovo, Peshtera, Rhodopes, Svilengrad, Kardzhali, Parvomay, Devin, and Yambol.

During his visit to Plovdiv, Minister Borislav Sandov met with representatives of the leadership of the National Youth Water Parliament - a national network of youth environmental clubs, which work together with the Basin Directorates in the field of water protection and aquatic ecosystems. The young people gave a presentation on the goals and activities of the organization, acquainted the Minister with their upcoming tasks and spoke about the successes achieved in conducting summer schools and their partnership with the French youth organization for water protection “Artois de Picardy”. In conclusion, the National Youth Water Parliament confirmed their readiness to continue working in joint projects with the MOEW structures thorughout the country.