Single country profile
|
Bulgaria|
Content: |
|
Basic information
| Year of approval of the SD strategy and updates |
The first draft of the Bulgarian NSDS is currently developed. The process is coordinated by the Inter-Departmental Advisory Council for Sustainable Development. After a period of broad consultation (September 2007 – September 2008) – including public authorities, stakeholders, academia, NGOs, etc – a decision for further analysis and improvements in the draft text was taken before the NSDS was submitted for adoption by the Council of Ministers. Currently, a draft NSDS is available in Bulgarian only: http://www.mee.government.bg/doc_pub/SDS_04_05_07.doc. |
| Type of SD strategy | N/A |
| Lead ministry/institution in the SD strategy process |
|
| Link to the SD strategy document |
|
| Further information about the SD strategy process |
National Strategy for the Environment and Action Plan 2000-2006 (in English) The new National Strategy for Environment (2009-2018) and the Action Plan (2009-2013) are currently in the process of final adoption. |
Mechanisms of Vertical Integration
National — sub-national linkages
The draft NSDS was discussed in several meetings, consultation and discussion forums with several stakeholder groups, including representatives of regional and local authorities.
EU linkages
The renewed EU Strategy for Sustainable Development (EU SDS) that was adopted in June 2006 foresees that Member States bi-annually report about how they address the priorities of the EU SDS. Bulgaria has published its first national report on implementing the EU SDS in Summer 2007.
Mechanisms of Horizontal Integration
The National Strategy for the Environment and Action Plan (2000-06) was approved by the Council of Ministers in June 2001. Improvements since the last National Strategy (1992) have been made in terms of collaboration and horizontal integration through the establishment of inter-ministerial commissions and councils, the adoption of programmes and plans on behalf of the Council of Ministers as well as ad-hoc inter-institutional working groups to solve specific problems. It is pointed out in the strategy that the EU integration process has been a strong driver for improving horizontal collaboration.
Specific horizontal aspects for the sustainable development in the transport sector are published (in Bulgarian) at www.mt.government.bg.
In the field of the sustainable labour policy, an Update National Labour Strategy 2008-2015 was adopted and the document, published in Bulgarian, is available here.
Evaluation and Review
There are several impact assessments and audits foreseen for environmental policy-making. For example, environmental impact assessment (EIA), strategic EIA for plans and programmes, environmental audits of enterprises and permits. The Supreme Expert Environmental Court (SEEC), which comprises representatives of ministries and stakeholders, takes decisions based on the various impact assessment reports.
Indicators and Monitoring
For monitoring the NSDS, a set of indicators is currently developed. It will be closely related to the set developed by Eurostat, with additional indicators reflecting specific national issues.
The first ‘Sustainable Development of Bulgaria’ pocket statistic book is published (Bulgarianand English versions).
Participation
In 2006, the Inter-departmental Advisory Council for Sustainable Development was established, following the recommendations in the renewed EU SDS. This Council is chaired by the Minister of Economy and Energy. The members of the Council are vice-ministers and directors of specialised administrations whose activities are related to SD. The major objective of the Council is to coordinate the development of the first NSDS of Bulgaria.
Moreover, when drafting the forthcoming NSDS, several meetings, consultation and discussion forums with several stakeholder groups were organised.
Sub-national activities
[No information available]
This Country Profile has been last updated on: Friday, 05 December 2008
For the sources used in the country profiles, please click here.
| This website is maintained by the ESDN Office Team at the Research Institute for Managing Sustainability |