Bulgaria: The Bloom of “The Country of Roses”

bulgaria is a country located in the Southeastern Balkan Peninsula， Europe. It is called the “Country of roses”. To maintain this reputation， the Bulgarian government has invested a lot in environmental protection to build Bulgaria into a garden land. However， the ecological awareness is the result of constant efforts. This beautiful country used to have a series of environmental problems. Especially in late 60s and early 70s， with the development of the various industries， the pollution of air， water， and soil was getting serious in Bulgaria. After the government realized the urgency of the problem， environmental protection became the priority. Recently， the reporter interviewed H. E. Mr. Plamen Shukyurliev， Bulgarian Ambassador to China， to explore how the “Country of Roses” maintains the blossom of ecology.

“The raise of ecological awareness is the beginning of building a beautiful homeland”

Speaking of Bulgaria， people naturally think about roses and cannot help thinking this country is as beautiful as the flower. The capital of Bulgaria Sofia is a well-known garden city for its enchanting sceneries， and the beautiful homeland requires everybody’s delicate care. Ambassador Shukyurliev told the reporter that in Bulgaria “the raise of ecological awareness is the beginning o building a beautiful homeland.” Indeed， it can be reflected in a series of policies adopted by the government. Moreover， ecological awareness has been integrated into people’s cultural life.

The Ambassador talked about the Bulgaria 8th European Environmental Film Festival， which was held in Kurdzhali， a city in southern Bulgaria， from September 27 to 29， 2013. It is a festival of films themed on environmental protection. Bulgaria was selected as the location of this festival symbolizing the recognition of the environmental protection conducted in Bulgaria. 70 films about environment protections from 24 countries were presented on the festival. Vice Minister of Environment and Water Resources of Bulgaria Iskra Mihailova-Koparova said in her speech that to theme the movie festival with environmental protection was a great idea， and it would play an important role in publicizing the awareness of environmental protection.

The Mayor of Kurdzhali City Hasan Azis Ismail said that the festival was an unique experience for the citizens， which enabled them to know various solutions of environmental problems all over the world through the movies. Cultural products are closely related to people’s life， and combing culture with ecological civilization is a good way of promoting ecological concepts.

“Responding to Climate Change is top priority”

The festival lasted for three days， and its theme was “Green Wave 21st Century”. The films presented on the festival were themed with heated topics including responding to global warming， coping with natural disasters and extreme weathers， and trans-genetic food. In recent years， movie festivals have been turned into environmental forums， in which climate change was a hotspot issue for discussion. Bulgaria has actively come up with measures to respond to climate change and the Ambassador also mentioned that “climate change is top priority”. The Ambassador also briefed us on the current work done by Bulgaria and what they will do next.

As a country with rich bio-diversity， Bulgaria has to consider the impacts brought by climate change. According to the report released by Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds on the 17th January 2011， since 1990s， climate change has resulted in the drastic reduction of birds. Undoubtedly， the bio-diversity of Bulgaria is seriously challenged. Thus， climate change was included as a key issue for discussion in “Environment Program 2014-2020”.

The Ambassador told us that the Program provided professional equipment and information system for ecological construction. It includes the management system for preserving and enriching bio-diversity， planning and stressing the position of species protection in Caspian Sea area. Apart from that， Bulgaria also adopted EU’s strategy on bio-diversity， including the development of gene database and alien species.

In addition， climate change also made impacts on the agriculture of Bulgaria. The Ambassador told us that the climate and soil conditions were very suitable for planting corn， but at the key time of corn’s growth， there might be shortage of rainfall and damage of high temperature caused by climate change， and these led to the reduction of production. In fact， climate change has influences on every sector of economy， but agriculture is the most sensitive and vulnerable sector. Therefore， the measures taken to respond to climate change should take agriculture as a key parameter in consideration.

Ambassador Shukyurliev has faith in Bulgaria’s responding to climate change. He said that no matter what kind of measures they would take， the general goal was to construct a society of sustainable development， and a key part of sustainable development was to realize the effective utilization of resources.

“The Country of Roses is nurtured by water”

Speaking of the utilization of water resources， the Ambassador explained the water resources situation of Bulgaria. Bulgaria has about 21 billion m3 of water resources and it is one of the countries with seasonal water-shortage in Europe. What’s more， the main agricultural areas are in flatlands and lowlands with limited water resources. Bulgaria started large scale of irrigation in Maritsa River Valley lowlands in 15 century， and irrigation became an important way of agricultural production since then. After the Second World War， the development of irrigation soared. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry approved an irrigation development plan under the circumstances of marketing economy， including the individualization of the ownership of irrigation system and drainage properties and the government supports and encourages this process.

Apart from the management of irrigation and drainage system， Bulgaria has also spent a lot of energy in the protection of water resource and water ecological environment. In order to meet EU’s water quality standards， Bulgaria has begun to strengthen the management of water. Measures have been taken in industrial production and city life. Data show that in order to prevent waters from being polluted by agriculture， new regulations have been released. Farmers are forbidden to store and use pesticides， build barns or store manure in the areas within the distance of 20m away from river basins， lakes， reservoirs or coasts. Farmers are forbidden to pour left manure， pesticide， chemical fertilizer， or other agricultural wastes （like tractor oil） into drainage channels， rivers， lakes， reservoirs or wells.

The issuing and implementation of these policies are meant to guarantee the rational utilization of water resources in Bulgaria. The Ambassador said that water is closely related to people’s life， and the country of roses needs to be nurtured by water. Thus， a series of legislation on water resources is also a crucial part of preserving the ecology of Bulgaria. After the political and economic transformation since late 1989， Bulgaria has considered joining in the EU as a significant goal， and legislation and policies regarding water resources in relation to the EU provide direction for the legislation and policy-making in Bulgaria.

In 2012， Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water Resources released the new development agenda of environmental protection policies， and the document was adopted in March 2013. The government took active measures to reduce the waste of water resources， among which the Ambassador specially mentioned the importance of high-tech to improve environmental protection and the effective use of water resources. The government will invest in these measures， supporting the construction of management system of surface water and underground water.

Postscript：

From the raise of ecological awareness to policy-making and implementation， Bulgaria has been moving forward in the course of ecological governance. The beauty of “the Country of Roses” is well earned. As Ambassador Shukyurliev said， it requires everybody’s participation and ecological policies to guarantee the lasting of the natural beauty Bulgaria is endowed with.