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Description
The project shall contribute to the achievement of Objective 2 of the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2020, which aims to maintain and restore the ecosystem services in the EU. Bulgaria has mapped and assessed the state of ecosystems and their services outside the Natura 2000 network under a previously implemented predefined project № 2 Methodological assistance for ecosystem assessment and biophysical assessment (MetEcoSMAP) financed by Program BG03 of EEA FM 2009-2014 and the projects under BG03.02 Evaluation and mapping of ecosystem services. Resulting from two seasons of fieldwork (in 2015 and 2016), a reference framework was created for 9 types of ecosystems with an assessment of their status and services. The information and data collected in Bulgaria from BG03.PDP2 and the projects under BG03.02, the awareness and experience of the involved stakeholders has been a driving force for undertaking the next step - assessing the economic value of ecosystem services and promoting the integration of these values into the accounting and reporting systems. The 2020 Biodiversity Strategy calls for "biodiversity considerations to be better integrated into society and business decision-making at all levels, including through life-cycle approaches and natural capital accountability…and they will include measuring the environmental footprint of products and organizations on the environment ”(COM (2020) 380 final - p.3.3.3). All these considerations have been integrated into the project activities with an ultimate goal of obtaining a workable methodology for valuing ecosystem services and integrating them into accounting, which eventually will contribute to the restoration and the sustainable use of ecosystem resources.
Summary of project results
The implementation of the main objective of the project to the final result of the project is carried out through a pre-narrowed scope of the sectors of the economy in which the project will intervene, taking into account the framework of financial resources for the pre-defined project and the volume of work, both for the dependence of the sectors of the economy on natural capital, and for the purpose of creating a pilot model in Bulgaria to be used for reference or replication of the model. Bulgaria has witnessed a high level of conflicts in the tourism sector in recent years due to the rapid development and obligations to protect biodiversity and the relevant ecosystems. The balance between different interests has not yet been achieved, and the value of ecosystems is perceived as a given, rather than as a capital that must be used wisely. Finding working solutions for ecosystem services in the tourism sector will be the key factor that will accelerate the entire process of integrating the value of ecosystem services in the context of strategic planning, as well as at the business level.
The main objective of the proposed project was to contribute to the integration of ecosystem services into national planning, accounting and reporting. As a result of the project, a system for valuing services for all Bulgarian ecosystems was developed. The specific project objectives were: creation of a national methodological basis for valuing ecosystem services in 9 ecosystem types (urbanized, agricultural, grassland, forest and woodland, shrub and ericoid, sparsely vegetated lands, wetlands, freshwater, marine); identification of the values provided by ecosystems and to guide decision-makers towards sustainable policy development and the prosperity of current and future generations; promotion and support of the involvement of business leaders in integrating natural capital into business planning, finance and accounting; increasing the capacity of decision-makers and businesses in valuing ecosystem services and integrating them into policies and business. Under the project a pilot model for integrating the value of ecosystem services into national, regional and/or local development strategies was created, as well as into the national accounting system of Bulgaria by developing a system for valuing services for all 9 Bulgarian ecosystem services, covering selected ecosystem services related to tourism and recreation, according to the common international classification of ecosystem services (CICES v5.1) outside the Natura 2000 network.
The project aimed to meet the needs and interests of a wide range of stakeholders outside the direct partners. The main stakeholders in the project at national level were the Ministry of Environment and Water, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Health, the National Statistical Institute, National Tourism Associations, the National Association of Municipalities in Bulgaria and Business organizations.
In order to meet the needs of the above-mentioned institutions, organizations and people, a stakeholder working group was set up in order to obtain a horizontal political commitment at the policy-making level. In this way, stakeholders were active participants in the process, as well as real recipients of the project results. The group acted as an advisory team and at the same time received knowledge and information about the project. The stakeholder working group was formed by the participation of experts from the relevant bodies who have a direct relationship and interest in the project. The Ministry of Environment and Water, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Finance, the National Statistical Institute, the National Associations of the Tourism Sector, the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria, professional associations, companies from the Tourism sector, etc.) were included. The Stakeholder Working Team was directly involved in all operational stages of the project as an advisory body providing advice to the project team. The advisory team supported the development of methodologies and assisted in the intergovernmental adoption of project results. Relevant representatives of the administrative bodies were able to contribute to higher results of the project, taking into account the specific situation in the sectors - policy context, legislation, economic status, etc. The working group of stakeholders benefited from the implementation of the project as a recipient of information and skills for reporting natural capital in the Republic of Bulgaria.
Summary of bilateral results
The Ministry of Environment and Water strengthened the partnership with the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) from the joint work on a predefined project № 2 Methodological assistance for ecosystem assessment and biophysical assessment (MetEcoSMAP) under Program BG03 of the FM of EEA 2009-2014, and upgraded it through the implementation of joint activities under this project.NINA has a key role in activity 2 of the project, where it is expected to report on experience and good practices in the field of valuing ecosystem services in Europe and Norway, including in the tourism sector, as well as experience in integrating natural capital in policy development, planning and business planning (for the tourism sector inclusion of companies), financial and accounting systems in the Bulgarian context at the moment.NINA also developed a peer-reviewed publication on evidence-based approaches to assessing methods for assessing green tourism under this activity.By providing foreign expertise, new knowledge for increasing the capacity of professionals was acquired.