Bulgaria - WHAT DO WE DO IN BULGARIA?
EFNCP opened a branch office in Bulgaria in 2010 to act as a focus for our work in SE Europe. Prior to that EFNCP had several collaborations with WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme in the region.
Our long-term ambitions in Bulgaria are focused on:
Effective policy mechanisms: Working towards effective support for HNV farming by public authorities (agricultural, environmental, regional and social) meaning that the national and European legislative framework, programmes and funding are adequate to the needs and accessible by HNV farmers.
Raising awareness and education: Communicating the values of HNV farming so that they are recognized and appreciated by farmers, consumers, local authorities and policy makers
Pro-active networking: Enhancing national networking with organizations sympathetic to HNV farming and strengthening the participation in EFNCP network.
Increased understanding: Partnering with research and advisory bodies and farmers to better understand the socio-economic values, perspectives and challenges of HNV farming in Bulgaria and Europe.
Key topics in our work:
The key topics of our work are naturally related to the values and challenges for HNV farming in Bulgaria:
- Socio-economic aspects of HNV farming systems;
- Policy aspects under CAP Pillar I and Pillar II;
- Governance aspects of Common pastures and meri.
Our approach:
Recognizing the wide diversity of the challenges faced by the HNV farming systems our approach is to partner with key stakeholders such as WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme Bulgaria (WWF DCP); Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB); the University of National and World Economy (UNWE); Civil Association for Sustainable Management of Pastures, Meri and Meadows; National Association of Municipalities in Bulgaria as well as the National Association of Small Family Farms and Processors; and more recently with the Society for Territorial and Environmental Prosperity (STEP).
2005-2009 period
Our first involvement in the country was in the context of the 2005 Pamporovo conference, organised in collaboration with WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme.
As the country, and neighbouring Romania, geared up for accession to the EU, EFNCP, once again in collaboration with WWF-DCP, looked in more detail at the HNV farming concept in a Bulgarian context and to start to consider its policy implications, funded by the Netherlands Government. Three of the project workshops took place in Bulgaria, taking the Strandzha, Rusenski Lom and Western Stara Planina refions as case study areas, with a seminar reporting conclusions from these and the three complementary Bulgarian workshops being held in Brussels, supported by a final publication.