Draft Ordinance on the definition, sustainable management and control of dredging material has been developed by the BPI Cо.
17 Май 2022
A working meeting with the stakeholders to discuss the Draft Ordinance on the definition, sustainable management and control of dredging material, developed by the Bulgarian Port Infrastructure Company, was held in Sofia on 17 May 2022. The draft regulatory document has been developed by the BPI Co. within the Project “Demonstration of a pilot green infrastructure as a win-win solution for biodiversity and development in Lake Varna” – LIFE for Lake Varna, in accordance with the Bulgarian and European legislation and the applicable international law.
The objective of the draft ordinance is to regulate the terms and conditions for positioning depots for dredging material at the Bulgarian sea ports, sustainable management during dredging and the control of the specified dredging locations. At present, the national regulatory framework contains no specific requirements or criteria, applicable to the management of dredging material. This results in problems and the impossibility for dredging activities to be carried out according to clear requirements.
The main purpose of the LIFE for Lake Varna project, carried out by the BPI Co. jointly with the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB), is to test and demonstrate a large-scale green infrastructure. This will result in three key outcomes: restoration of key habitats for high-priority bird species, thus contributing to the fulfilment of the objectives for the protection of biodiversity in the project zone within Natura 2000 SPA “Varna– Beloslav Lake” (BG0000191), improvement of the ecosystem functions of the damaged aquatic ecosystem of the Varna lake and the provision of a sustainable and economically viable solution for using dredging silt from the navigation canals to and from Port Varna.
The EU LIFE programme, financing this project, has its 30th anniversary on 21 May 2022. The program is responsible for the implementation of large-scale projects for the protection of the environment and nature. This contributes to the implementation of the birds and habitats directives and the development of the Natura 2000 network of protected areas. The projects are pilot schemes, related to the fulfillment of EU’s objective to stop the loss of biodiversity.
