The Ministry of Environment and Water (MOEW) announced the launch of its Program “Youth Policies in the Environment Sector” (“Youth for the Environment”). It will be implemented through the regional structures of the Ministry throughout the country (the Executive Environment Agency, Regional Inspectorates of Environment and Water, National Parks and Basin Directorates) in partnerships with local and national NGOs. The goal of the program is to involve more young people in activities related to environmental protection. The widest possible territorial scope of activities and the inclusion of young people from small settlements in the country is encouraged.

The priority topics of the program include combating climate change, reducing the carbon footprint and achieving energy independence of the country, introducing the principles of the circular economy, effective waste management in the direction of “zero waste”, ecological and sustainable land use, protection of clean air, forests and soil, protection of the Black Sea, rivers and lakes of Bulgaria, biodiversity protection.

The MOEW invites nongovernmental organizations, networks of formal and informal structures of civil society, volunteers and volunteer formations with experience and expertise to work with youth audiences in the field of environmental protection.

Until 12 June 2022, nongovernmental organizations can express their interest in participating by filling out the following form.

To help nongovernmental organizations in their applications, a list of the regional structures of the Ministry of Environment and Water and information about the activities for which these are looking for partners under the program have been published, as well as the settlements in which these have information-visitor centers, what premises they have, etc.

In turn, NGOs are expected to provide information to regional structures about their specific ideas that could be implemented under the program. To this end, organizations should establish contact with the specific regional structure, with which they want to cooperate, indicate in writing what initiatives and activities they are interested in implementing; in which administrative districts and settlements they would like to work; what goals will be achieved; what is the expected scope of activities (number of students and young people covered; number of trained experts to work with youth audiences, etc.); whether they plan to publish information and educational materials, in what numbers and manner, where and how these will be distributed; what are the deadlines for implementation of the suggested activities within the timeline of the program (July - December 2022) and what indicators will be used to report on the results achieved.

Once NGOs and the structures of the Ministry of Environment and Water have established contact and partnerships have been set up, the structures of the Ministry of Environment and Water will prepare their respective plans for joint implementation of the program. They may entrust the implementation, in whole or in part, of the activities to nongovernmental organizations which have expressed an interest in participating.

The plans of the Regional Structures of the Ministry of Environment and Water will be approved by a commission appointed by the Minister of Environment and Water. The implementation period for the activities is July 2022 to December 2022.