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Description
Chelopech, Zlatitsa, Mirkovo and Koprivshtitsa – four Bulgarian municipalities, Ecotech Consult and International Development Norway will work together to increase the capacity of local administration to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change. This involves training for the staff, study trips to Norway, drafting appropriate local policies on climate change and implementation of six pilot mitigation measures in the municipalities.
In Chelopech, they will install a solar panel on the roof of the school and a charging station for electric vehicles, powered by the sun in the parking lot. The youth centre in Koprivshtitsa will produce its own electricity from a solar system on the roof, just as the kindergarden and the school in Mirkovo, while the citizens of Zlatitsa will receive containers to compost their biodegradable waste.
Another key aspect is the dissemination of good practices from Norway in the field of adaptation to climate change and the development of local plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions which will be discussed on an additional seminar held with the Norwegian project partner. The main focus will be on the implemented policies in various sectors, which have a positive impact on climate change mitigation and adaptation
Within the project there will be developed and implemented 6 pilot and innovative mitigation measures and CCA in the Bulgarian municipalities in implementation of their strategic plans and programs. This initiative is in line with the EU''s objectives of reducing GHG emissions, support the renewable energy production and energy efficiency for the period 2020 and 2030, paving the way for the long-term goal of a climate-neutral economy by 2050.
More information about this initiative is available on the official website of the project:
Summary of project results
The main challenge that the project aimed to address was to increase implement logically related activities leading to increasing the capacity of four Bulgarian municipalities to pursue sustainable policies to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change.
In addition, the project aimed to develop the address is to increase the capacity of the four municipalities in Bulgaria(municipality of Chelopech as a beneficent, and partners municipalities Zlatitsa, Mirkovo, Koprivshtitsa) by developing the knowledge, skills, experience and qualifications needed to support the planning and design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of their strategic plans and programs in terms of actions leading to reducing GHG emissions and adapting to the expected adverse effects of climate changes. The project is in line with the EU''s goals of reducing GHG emissions, renewable energy production and energy efficiency for the period 2020 and 2030, paving the way for the long-term goal of a climate-neutral economy by 2050.
As a result of the implementation of the activity in the four municipalities a total of 6 measures for mitigation and adaptation to climate change will be introduced. Two photovoltaic installations will be delivered and installed on municipal buildings on the territories of Chelopech municipality and Koprivshtitsa municipality. The energy produced will be used to meet its own needs, which will reduce the consumption of energy produced from solid fuels for specific buildings. This will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to the replacement of conventional fuels for electricity production with renewable energy sources (RES). In a public parking lot in the municipality of Chelopech will be built a charging station for electric vehicles, which will allowed charging of electric cars of citizens and guests of the municipality with green energy produced from renewable energy sources. Due to the lack of sufficient such charging stations on the Republican Road I-6 (Sub-Balkan Road), this will motivate the population to switch to electric cars and will facilitate passengers traveling with electric cars on the national road. In the municipality of Mirkovo, two solar hot water systems will be installed in a kindergarten and a primary school, which will contribute to the reduction of EPG by replacing the use of solid fuel. A pilot project for the introduction of home composting of biodegradable waste in 250 households will be launched in Zlatitsa municipality.
As a result of the activity, 10 employees (2males and 8 females)of the partner municipalities will improve theirqualification, support their personal development, gain experience in the field of planning and implementationof measures for climate change mitigation and adaptation and evaluation of the impact of the policies and measures.
The main stakeholders related to the implementation of the project are:
- the municipal administrations of Chelopech municipality, Mirkovo municipality, Zlatitsa municipality and Koprivshtitsa municipality, in accordance with the responsibilities of the municipalities for implementation of the national and municipal policies in the field of environmental protection and adaptation to climate change. In this way, the trainings planned under the project will provide an opportunity for the stakeholders and especially for the specific specialists in the municipal administrations, related to the implementation of these policies, to acquire new knowledge and expertise, including through acquaintance with good practices and exchange of experience. with the Norwegian partner. Municipal administrations and their employees will have the opportunity to plan and implement other solutions related to adaptation to climate change, incl. by developing specific measures and projects for financing from various sources;
- The population of the municipalities, which will directly and indirectly benefit from the results of the project.
Employees of other municipal administrations and the population of other municipalities not participating in the project, who will have the opportunity to receive information about the opportunities and to apply the good practices of the Norwegian partners synthesized in the project regarding the introduction and implementation of measures to adapt to the change. climate;
The final beneficiaries who will benefit from these positive results will be all residents of the municipalities participating in the project.
The project also aims to strengthen partnerships with organizations with a similar vision and mission in the field of environment at the local, national and international levels. Strengthening cooperation and promoting joint initiatives are identified as crucial in developing policies to tackle climate change at the international level. The implementation of exchange of good practices and the involvement of experts with many years of experience in the field of innovation to tackle climate change will create preconditions for accelerating the processes of their introduction and implementation on a large scale and with guaranteed efficiency. The project will strengthen and expand partnerships with organizations from donor countries and other EU countries.
The sustainability of the project will be ensured through several key measures that the four partner municipalities will implement, namely:
- financing of the activities related to the measures implemented under the project for mitigation and adaptation to climate change;
- maintenance of the administrative capacity in the administrations of the four municipalities during the whole period of sustainability of the project;
- The employees in the administrations of the four municipalities, who are engaged in the management of the project, have experience in the implementation of such projects, and their role and responsibility for the period of sustainability of the project will be preserved.
- insurance of the equipment acquired under the project for the entire period of sustainability, according to the instructions of the invitation - the four municipalities will insure the equipment purchased under the project against all necessary risks.
- The four municipalities will not change the ownership and purpose of the acquired equipment for a period of at least 5 years after approval of the final project report and within this period the equipment will be used as intended.
- The main sources of sustainability of the project are the municipal budgets. According to the presented ODA and balance, all four municipalities have a good coefficient of financial independence and profitability, which will ensure the financial sustainability of the project.
- Institutional sustainability is ensured by the national legislation through the normative documents to the Law on Local Self-Government. Municipalities have institutional, managerial, operational and financial autonomy, which will be maintained throughout the period of sustainability. All four municipalities have the financial, technical and administrative capacity to ensure the sustainability of the project:
- Office equipment, technical means and working premises in the administrative buildings of the municipalities; They have a team with the necessary professional experience for project management and implementation of activities related to ensuring the sustainability of results;
- The financial sustainability of the project will be ensured by providing the necessary amounts for insurance in the municipal budgets every year within the project and five years after its completion.
Conducted a 4-day study visit to Norway to exchange experiences and good practices; transfer of knowledge and experience of 12 municipal employees inNorway.
Summary of bilateral results
The invited Norwegian partner IDN Research is is sharing experience in planning and implementing measures and activities to combat climate change in the sectors that are the responsibility of municipalities in Bulgaria. The training is entirely practical and oriented to the needs of each municipality. IDNR is providing speakers to present good practices in Norway for the rational use of natural resources, the stages of implementation of measures and incentives for society to engage in the implementation of local government policies. The main focus for attracting the foreign partner is related to capacity building, awareness and strengthening of communication in response to the growing need for adequate solutions and real actions to deal with climate change at the regional and local level.Training activity and exchange of experience.