This Bulgarian National Environmental Strategy for the planned period from the year 2021 until the year 2030 is a document that combines the political vision and priorities in the field of the environment with a specific strategy for their implementation. The strategy is a "living" document that provides a reference framework for the preparation and planning of strategies and programs at different levels, allows carrying out permanent and based on measurable indicators monitoring of effects and impacts, motivates integration of the principles of environmental protection in all management policies and initiatives. The Strategy is build on the following principles: sustainable development; prevention and reduction of risk to human health; advantage of the prevention of pollution before the subsequent removal of the damage caused by the same; public participation and transparency in environmental decision-making; the polluter pays principle; preservation, development and protection of ecosystems and their inherent biological diversity; restoring and improving the quality of the environment or contaminated areas and damaged areas; preventing contamination and damage to the clean areas and other adverse impacts on same; integration of environmental conservation policy in sectoral and regional policies for the development of economy and public relations; access to justice in environmental matters. The strategy is an independent document that is located at the highest level in the hierarchy of the national planning documents, but it is developed in the middle of the current ones for the sector strategic and program documents at the national, European and international level, such as researches and prioritizes the key challenges for the national context related to environmental protection. This Strategy is an integrated document that outlines the general understanding of positive change, the framework and direction of future development, but at the same time includes the features of an operational action document for achieving the defined goals and priorities. This text identifies four main priorities among related thematic strategic goals and objectives: Priority 1: Restoration of natural capital. Sustainable communities and ecosystems (more specific to restore and conserve biodiversity and natural ecosystem functions with particular attention to those with high biodiversity potential; sustainable management of protected areas and informed stakeholder participation, shared responsibility, shared governance; greening of cities - restoration of the presence of nature in urbanized areas); Priority 2: Development within the limits of natural potential-resource efficiency and zero pollution (with deriving objectives such as to establish an economic growth model that creates value; effective implementation of the waste management hierarchy in all processes and at all levels; transformation of the economy and behavior models towards zero pollution; Priority 3: Climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation (objectives: limiting GHG emissions - transformation in all sectors - from industry and energy to transport and household; achieving a climate-resilient society adapted to the inevitable impacts of climate change); Priority 4: management for Accelerated Achievement of Environmental Goals (with objectives such as improvement of the level of integration of environmental management policies at all levels; environmental awareness, education and responsibility; building capacity for environmental management).
Bulgaria · 2023-11-02