The largest portion of environmental spending was allocated to water and wastewater-related projects (34 percent), followed by air pollution-control activities (28 percent) and waste management-related activities (16 percent). The remaining 22 percent went toward other projects, including spending on the national monitoring system.
The environmental business sector in Bulgaria is the smallest of the four surveyed countries. It is estimated that fewer than 100 businesses provide environmental services and technologies (68 were included in this survey). The market is also young - 60 percent of the companies were established after 1990. More than half of the surveyed companies were privately owned, and a significant share (35 percent) were state-owned. The remaining companies were either in the process of privatization or had some combination of state and private ownership.
With only 7 percent of companies operating joint-ventures with foreign firms, Bulgaria has the lowest occurrence of foreign partnerships of all the surveyed countries. Partners for Bulgarian joint-ventures came mainly from Austria, Germany and the United States.
Total annual revenues from environmental activities reported by the 42 companies that provided financial data exceeded USD 23 million in 1995. Technical services generated the highest share of revenues (46 percent), followed by the sale of environmental technologies (33 percent) and testing and monitoring activities (11 percent). Other income was generated from research, training and education, which accounted for 10 percent of total revenues.
When the total revenue was broken down by media, the largest share (39 percent) came from water and wastewater activities, followed by waste-related activities (25 percent). Air pollution control and energy-related activities each generated 8 percent of total revenues. The rest came from other non-media specific activities, including industrial safety and noise prevention, environmental impact assessment and soil and land activities.
As in the other surveyed countries, there exist no effective formal channels for information on project opportunities in Bulgaria. Personal and professional contacts, environmental publications, the daily press, participation in conferences, the Ministry of Environment, and fairs and trade shows are among the primary sources of information regarding environmental business opportunities. Professional associations, such as a chamber of commerce, and the Academy of Sciences are not seen as major information sources or as effective lobbying groups for the environmental business sector.
Bulgaria's environmental professionals showed high interest in information regarding domestic environmental regulations, domestic environmental problems, sources of project financing, ways to find domestic partners, environmental quality standards for industries and eco-efficient and cleaner production practices.
Almost half the respondents showed high interest in conferences arranged to address specific environmental problems; a regular newsletter containing updated information on project opportunities, technologies, and financing; and an information research service providing specific environmental information. More than half of the respondents would be willing to pay for such information products. Other delivery options in high demand included a printed environmental business directory and a workshop designed to introduce Bulgarian firms to Western partners, government environmental officials and NGOs.
Professional environmental training was requested particularly on environmental regulation and policy, environmental management, financing environmental investments and environmental impact assessment.
The government was considered by 67 percent of the respondents as an important source for support and assistance. Other important sources of assistance mentioned as important by more than half of the respondents included financial institutions, business and industrial associations and scientific and academic institutions.
Access to credit and financing was seen as the biggest barrier to the development of Bulgaria's environmental business sector and was mentioned by 67 percent of respondents. Other factors that were considered barriers by more than half of the respondents included tax regulations, market demand for environmental products and services and general access to information.