NATIONAL REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN BULGARIA 13th session of the UNECE Working Group on Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Geneva,1-2 November 2012 MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND WATER EXECUTIVE ENVIRONMENT AGENCY

EXECUTIVE ENVIRONMENT AGENCY – BULGARIA Main activities The ExEA: manages the National system for environmental monitoring and the respective information technologies designs the monitoring, gathering and analysis of data and information for the environmental media and pollutants of the environment provides sampling and laboratory analysis of the samples on the whole territory of the country – 1 central and 14 regional offices issues permits for prevention of pollution and control and permits for greenhouse gases emissions

NATIONAL REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT Organization of preparation ExEA prepares the draft structure of the report, coordinates the whole process of preparation Interministerial working group approves the structure of the report, submits additional information sectoral policies and measures Kollegium at the MoEW approves the draft SOER Minister of Environment and Water presents the SOER to the Council of Ministers Council of Ministers approves the SOER Duration of the process of preparation – 4-5 months

SOER 2010 – EVALUATION BASED ON INDICATORS Advantages Clear definition of the questions on the interlinkage “social development – state of the environment and nature resources” Improvement of the assessments, identification of the trends and the threats Comparability of the information Possibility for integration in the regional and European assessments Promotion of the effectiveness of the information

MЕTHODOLOGY Based on DPSIR indicator’s scheme – environmental state evaluation UNECE/CEP – Strategic papers adopted at Ministerial Conferences “Environment for Europe” in Kiev (2003), Belgrade (2007), Astana(2011) referring to environmental indicators and their implementation in national evaluation reports Contribution of the ExEA as national reference center in Bulgaria to the preparation of the 5-years SOER reports Bilateral cooperation and experience exchange with CENIA, Czech Republic

GENERAL STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT 15 Chapters on main environmental issues Evaluation based on indicators related to: QUALITY OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND STATE OF THE NATURE RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT HUMAN HEALTH EFFECTS ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT Key questions Key messages Summary of the report

GENERAL STRUCTURE AND CONTENT OF THE CHAPTERS Name of the Chapter Key question/s Key messages Definition and description of each indicator, incl.: sources of information with data description, available at the ExEA; external sources of data Analysis and assessment of each indicator Indicator trends, linkages with other indicators in DPSIR scheme Linkages with the environmental policies – legal and strategic documents on national and EU level; measures to achieve strategic and operational goals

EMISSIONS OF HARMFUL SUBSTANCES Key question Does Bulgaria carry out its international commitments to reduce emissions of harmful substances in the air? Key messages All the commitments of Bulgaria born under Directive 2001/81/ЕC on the levels of emissions of SO2, NO2, NMVOC and NH3 in 2010 are fulfilled. In 2010 the desulfurization facilities caught 642,6 thousand tones sulfur dioxide. Household heating is stillthe main source of PM10, emitting 58% of the total quantity released in the atmosphere.

EMISSIONS OF AIR POLLUTANTS Indicators National emissions inventory - In Bulgaria the emissions are calculated in relation with CORINAIR methodology - 11 group of sources– total and by groups - Air pollutants: sulphur oxides (SОx), nitrogen oxides (NОx), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC), ammonia(NH3), carbon monoxide (СО), heavy metals: cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), pentachlorophenol /PCP/; dioxins and furans(DIOX), particulate matter(PM10) and some other specific pollutants. Relative distribution of emissions of major air pollutants Assessed against National ceilings for 2010 according the Directive 2001/81/ЕC on national emission ceilings for certain atmospheric pollutants and Gothenburg Protocol.

AMBIENT AIR QUALITY Key question Are the admissible ceilings for defending the human health in air pollution achieved? Key messages In the period 1990 to 2010 there is a significant decrease in the levels of emissions of all main ambient air pollutants, followed by improvement in the ambient air quality. In 2010 compared to 2009 the percentage of the population affected by the sulfur dioxide levels is decreased from 3% to 0,57% and by the ozone - from 4% to 0,84%. The percentage of population living with levels of PM10 over the admissible ones is still high – 57% and with such ones for nitrogen dioxide – 22%. There is no problem with the levels of pollution with benzene, nickel and arsenic.

AMBIENT AIR QUALITY Indicators Exceedance of air quality limit values in urban areas of: sulphur dioxide (SОx), nitrogen dioxides (NО2), particulate matter(PM10) and ozone in 2010 Percentage of urban population resident in areas where pollutant concentrations are higher than selected limit of sulphur dioxide (SОx), nitrogen dioxides (NО2), particulate matter(PM10) and ozone in 2010 Comparison with similar characteristics to countries – members of the European Environment Agency

WATER QUALITY Key questions Is there an improvement in the quality of the surface water that is affecting their use for drinking water sources on one hand and on the other - as a habitat for a number of water organisms? Is the quality of the ground water improved which is affecting their use as drinking water sources on one hand and on the other – to feed water and earth ecosystems? Key messages In the period the trend to improvement in the quality of water seen during the recent years is stable, still there are some water bodies in risk. Specific programs were developed for these bodies aiming at achievement of the good ecological status until The percentage of the points in which the average annual concentrations of nitrates are above the nitrates quality standard in the period show minor changes compared to 1996 with slight increase in 2008 and further halt in the last three years.

WATER QUALITY Indicators Surface water Annual average concentrations of Dissolved oxygen (DO), BOD5 (Biological oxygen demand), ХПК (Chemical oxygen demand), Ammonium Nitrogen (NH4- N) and Nitrate nitrogen (NO3- N) азот, Phosphates (PO4) Change in the abundance and diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates indicator groups in the rivers assessed by biotic index Groundwater Annual average values of рH, Electroconductivity, Total Hardness, COD (Manganese III) concentracions of Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, Sulphates, Chlorides, Phosphates, Sodium, Magnesium, Zinc, Mercury, Nickel, Lead, Chromium, Iron, Manganese, Arsenic, Tetrachloroethene, Thrichloroethene and Pesticides

PROTECTED AREAS under the Habitats Directive and Birds Directive Key question Did Bulgaria propose sufficient number of sites under the Habitats Directive and Birds Directive? Key message In Bulgaria, by the end of 2010, 335 protected areas of the network "Natura 2000“ covering 30% of the country were adopted by the Council of Ministers. The proposed areas for Bulgaria were assessed as adequate in terms of representativeness of species and habitats. Sufficiency index was 94,3%.

PROTECTED AREAS under the Habitats Directive and Birds Directive Indicators Trends in spatial coverage of proposals of sites (SEBI 8) Sufficiency index based on those proposals (only for Habitats Directive) (SEBI 8)

FOREST HEALTH Key question Development of the forests health status in 2010? Key messages The results of the 2010 large scale forest condition assessment of the 2396 broadleaves and 3173 coniferous trees in 159 sample plots show that the trees classified as none and slight defoliated are prevailing. Atmospheric depositions – The results of the 2010 atmospheric depositions measurements show that there are not exceedances of critical loads of acidity, sulphur and nitrogen. Forest damage – Insects (55%) and fungi phytopathogens (33%) cause major impacts on forest in Bulgaria Forest fires – The forest areas affected of forest fires in 2010 are 6526 ha.

FOREST HEALTH Indicators Atmospheric depositions - (indicator 2.1, SEBI 009) Forest health-Defoliation - ( indicator 2.3) Forest damage –classified by major damage factors -abiotic, biotic and human induced and by forest type (indicator 2.4). Forest damage – Forest fires (indicator 2.4)

MUNICIPAL WASTE MANAGEMENT Key question Does the amount of generated municipal waste in the country decrease? Does the share of landfilled municipal solid waste in the country decrease? Key messages Over the past 10 years the amount of generated waste in the country decreases. Municipal waste for 2010 was 3091 kt. Since 1999 the average quantities of municipal waste per capita in Bulgaria are lower than those for the EU-27. In 2010 for recycling is delivered 26 thousand tonnes of municipal waste, landfilled are 3, 041 million tons of municipal waste. The disposal of waste by landfill remains the most popular method in the country for treatment of municipal waste. Development of infrastructure for waste management with the support of OP "Environment " - construction of 23 regional systems for waste management in the country.

MUNICIPAL WASTE MANAGEMENT Indicators Generation, recycling, recovery and disposal of waste as a whole – per year, per capita Municipal waste generation - for the country, per capita Municipal waste landfilled Generation and recycling of packaging waste Intensity of consumption of plastic, paper and cardboard packaging

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION National State of the Environment Report- report/index.html Dr.Vanya Grigorova Executive Director report/index.html