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Description
Bulgaria repeatedly fails to perform its commitments for the application of the EU community policy for biodiversity protection. Ever since 2012-2013 the relevant policies and legislative documents are of unacceptable quality and several infringement procedures have been brought against the country. Public involvement of independent experts outside of public institutions has lost its meaning and has been replaced by pseudo-democratic and state-rigged forms of “civic engagement”. The project aims at analyzing professionally the weaknesses and shortcomings with the help of 3 of the legislative documents on biodiversity protection: 1. management priorities and direction in the National Prioritised Action Framework for NATURA 2000; 2. Issuance of orders and prioritization of environmental protection goals and measures to define protected areas as habitats in “Document on the goals of NATURA 2000”; 3. reporting biodiversity status under the Habitats and the Birds Directives. The documents are to be adopted or updated. Analyses will be prepared and proposals will be made to improve the documents with the help of experts, who played a major role until 2013 for the setting up of NATURA 2000 network and for the legislative documents, approaches and methodologies for its management. The professional community involved in NATURA 2000 will be also consulted, i.e. organizations, scholars, experts - importers and respondents of protected areas. The analyses and recommendations will be presented to the public bodies involved with environmental protection.