 |
United in diversity - art has
a unique way of reinforcing national identity and at the same time
transcending it. Fritz Holzwarth admires Bulgarian icons in Sofia |
"Ministries of environment or water alone cannot ensure that pollution
is reduced and that good water management practices are in place; there
is a need for coordinated actions by many ministries,” said Fritz
Holzwarth, the ICPDR President, during his visit to Bulgaria. Concluding
the last of the four-country visits to the middle and lower Danube in 2003,
Fritz Holzwarth expressed satisfaction with "the high degree of ministerial
coordination related to water management that exists in Bulgaria”.
Holzwarth made his comments after a visit to the Ministry of Finance, Ministry
of Agriculture and Forests, and Ministry of Regional Development and Public
Works, organized by Nikolai Kouyumdzhiev, Deputy Minister of the Environment
and Head of the country's delegation to the ICPDR. Among other things, these
visits showed that Bulgaria - perhaps unique among Danube countries - holds
regular inter-ministerial coordination meetings for water management that
bring together representatives of all ministries responsible for water and
water-related issues.
River Basin Councils
The ICPDR visit began with a discussion with experts from the Ministry of
Environment and the Executive Environmental Agency. Also present was a representative
of the NGO - Danube Environment Forum. As was clear from these discussions,
Bulgaria has been actively seeking to fulfil the requirements of the Water
Framework Directive and has reorganized its water management activities
in line with the Directive. Four river basin districts have been established
including one for the Danube. A unique element of the Bulgarian approach
to river basin management has been the formation of River Basin Councils
involving a variety of stakeholders such as governmental representatives,
business and other non-governmental groups.
Organic agriculture does it
During presentations given by the officials of the ministries visited, the
ICPDR delegation heard many encouraging words recognizing the importance
of international cooperation in the framework of the ICPDR. The commitment
of the Ministry of Agriculture to limit non-point source pollution was one
of the most encouraging examples. The Ministry of Environment and the Ministry
of Agriculture have together developed an inventory of non-point pollution
sources. "One of the most important initiatives,” said Deputy
Minister Plugschieva, "is the limiting of pollution from non-point
sources through the adoption of organic agriculture”.
NGOs get on board
A meeting with NGOs reinforced the commitment of the non-governmental sector
to participate in water management decisions. NGOs expressed strong interest
in participating in the River Basin Councils and in supporting the Danube
Day initiatives. They pledged to assist the government in providing access
to environmental information for citizens. Mr Holzwarth praised the Bulgarian
DEF for effectively supporting the improvement of water quality and appreciated
the fact that communication between NGOs and governmental representatives
existed.
Strengthened commitments
"Through good inter-ministerial cooperation and with communication
and involvement of NGOs and the public, Bulgaria appears to be making good
progress towards achieving the necessary internal coordination for effective
improvement of water management, ” the ICPDR President concluded.
He said he was convinced that his visits to Bulgaria and the other middle
and lower-Danube countries would strengthen the commitment of those countries
to both the Convention and the work of the ICPDR - a view confirmed by Mr
Kouzumdzhiev, who speaking on behalf of Bulgaria said: "The visit of
the ICPDR President has been helpful to us in making our partners aware
of the value of our international commitments”.