Basic Information

Municipal Profile

Agricultural lands with high fertility occupy the southern areas of the municipality. The Bedechka River runs through its eastern parts.

Many kinds of industry can be found in the city: food-processing, chemical, building, electronics, machine-building, furniture, and textiles industry. A number of small, private processing enterprises for agricultural products have been recently established. Most cause heavy pollution. However, because the land area within the municipality is vast and the industrial sources are scattered away from the city, risk assessment indicates that the city residents are not overly exposed to industrial pollutants. In recent years, though, due to economic restructuring and the resulting decline in the economy, pollution sources have become increasingly varied, in that sources from other sectors, such as transportation, heating and energy, have become more prominent.

Stara Zagora is an important railway cross-point for north-south and east-west connections. The city's public transport consists mainly of diesel fueled buses, and a small proportion of trolley-buses.

The local government is represented by a City Council of 51 members, elected for a four-year term. Approximately 230 people work in the municipal administration: the Deputy Mayor is responsible for environmental protection. There are six employees in the environmental department and environmental police. The Ministry of Environment has its Regional Environmental Inspection (REI) in the city. Besides the budget assigned for environmental protection within the municipal borders, there is a Municipal Environmental Fund totalling US$60,000, using money collected partly from the privatization process, and from pollution fees and penalties imposed by the REI. The Municipality of Stara Zagora has begun some environmental improvement, the most significant being: gasification of the local household heating stations, replacing the diesel buses with trolley-buses and studies for a waste water treatment plant.

Public awareness of environmental issues is considerably high: there is an increasingly active nongovernmental organization community within the city. The NGO, Ecoglasnost-Stara Zagora, is foremost amongst those working on environmental issues. Although the local government does not fund local NGOs, it does support their initiatives.

Goals and Objectives of the Project

• identify, study and rank local environmental problems by means of data collection, analysis, and prioritization;
• institutionalize a more efficient decisionmaking process, with respect to greater municipal responsibility for managing environmental problems and economic restructuring;
• improve the quality and flow of information between the national ministries, regional environmental and health agencies and municipalities in order to improve environmental management decisionmaking capabilities. This can be done by developing and utilizing mechanisms for coordination between relevant regional institutions such as the Regional Environmental Offices, health departments, academic institutions, and businesses;
• establish a process by which the city's residents will be better informed and involved in decisionmaking. This is an effective means of building consensus and obtaining support for environmental solutions;
• provide a mechanism for NGOs and industries to constructively participate in environmental policy formulation and implementation;
• select and implement low-cost and cost-effective solutions to improve environmental protection through better management practices, pollution prevention, waste minimization, and improved efficiency.

LEAP Development

Phases of the Project

Phase 1 (November 1992 - June 1994): Launching the project, collecting environmental information and setting priorities.

At the end of 1992, NGO Ecoglasnost-Stara Zagora began the preliminary organization of the Community-Based Environmental Action Project The project was initiated by the Stara Zagora Ecoglasnost NGO and the city government at a meeting in the City Hall. Letters were sent to various institutions, such as the Regional Environmental Inspection, the Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the Organization for Citizens Protection, the Institute of Human Medicine and the Institute of Veterinary Medicine, as well as to the environmental departments of different factories. At the first meeting, their representatives discussed initial plans and volunteered to identify and study environmental problems and agreed to facilitate communication with the public.

The formal set-up of the project followed the Troyan LEAP development's pattern. Participants in the project were divided into two committees - The Technical Committee (TC) and the Policy Committee (PC). Included were teachers, chemists, biologists and physicians. Tasks of the PC were:

• conducting a public opinion survey related to municipal environmental problems and analyzing the results;
• conducting a survey amongst PC members, analyzing results and comparing them with the results of the public survey;
• carrying out public outreach activities to advertise the goals of the project;

The TC tasks were set as follows:

• collecting data on specific polluters;
• collecting and collating already existing information on the environmental situation in Stara Zagora;
• conducting research activities on specific environmental problems and involving experts;
• risk assessment and ranking of environmental problems.

Committee members participated in methodology training sessions conducted by the ISC and Ecoproject Sofia. Apart from the topics related to public participation, environmental data collection and analysis, attention focused on team participation and problem-solving.

2. Collecting available information on environmental problems.

Goals and objectives of the project were announced at a press conference, attended by journalists from the local newspaper and radio station.

A public opinion survey - "Environmental Problems of the Stara Zagora Municipality"- was conducted by the Bulgarian Community for Education and Culture, which prepared the questionnaires, processed the information, and analyzed the results. The local newspaper, "South Post," published information about the project, as well as results of the public opinion survey. The newspaper donated a free three-month subscription to those who participated in the survey. A brochure with information about the project was distributed with the questionnaires.

The TC contacted approximately 25 sources to begin preliminary data collection, including; The Institute of Veterinary Medicine; The Institute of Human Medicine; The Central City Hospital; Veterinary Control; The Regional Environmental Inspectorate; The Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology; The Organization for Citizens Protection; Bulgarcontrol and Agrobiochim. The TC funded independent research on the lead and cadmium levels in 40 children by the National Center of Hygiene, Ecology and Nutrition in Sofia.

In some cases, the information was insufficient to make even tentative conclusions, while in other cases, when information did not confirm expectations, perceptions of some problems changed. Thus, descriptions were developed only for those environmental problems with sufficient information available to draw conclusions. Little additional research was necessary or, as was the case with air pollution, information was insufficient to make judgement, even though public opinion demanded action.

The third training session for members of the project concerned comparative risk assessment. The seminar included both theoretical lectures and practical exercises.

3. Report elaboration and conducting a public opinion survey.

TC members were divided into groups according to problem areas and additional data on particular problems collected, although most of the descriptions were developed by experts. Several reports related to different environmental problems were elaborated:

• Urbanization and the environment;
• Ayazmo Park - threats of environmental degradation;
• Content of the soil in Stara Zagora Municipality as a result of pollution by heavy metals, fertilizers, pesticides, and as a result of erosion;
• Waste - collection and disposal;
• Hygiene and environmental assessment of the content of the drinking water in Stara Zagora;
• Lead contamination from air pollution in Stara Zagora and lead levels in children;
• Hygiene problems of ambient air pollution in Stara Zagora and its impact on the citizens' health.

Every report was presented to, and discussed amongst all committee members. A sociological survey with a sample group of 1230 citizens was conducted; this second, non-representative survey, was carried out by volunteers to publicize the project. Results of the survey were regularly published in newspapers with comments by specialists. Report summaries elaborated by the TC were regularly published.

4. Selecting priorities

During the preparatory period of this stage, the TC developed reports on various environmental problems which would be accessible to the general public.

Both committees held an open meeting to present problems, hold a public discussion, and engage in a ranking process to reflect residents' priorities and values based on given information. The full participation of citizens was encouraged. Everybody defined an individual risk level and completed personal tables.

The ranking was compiled using the comparative risk assessment method according to three categories: impact on ecosystems, human health and quality of life. Both the TC's reports and results of the public opinion survey were used for the ranking: the public opinion and scientific studies were merged. The environmental problems were combined into several problem areas: ambient air pollution, drinking water pollution, soil pollution, and solid wastes.

Results of the survey revealed that the impact on human health was considered to be the most important category, followed by the impact on ecosystems, and the impact on the quality of life. The committee ranked the problems as follows:

1. Ambient air pollution from low-stack and mobile sources
2. Drinking water pollution
3. Solid wastes
4. Soil contamination.

This result was equal to the results of the public opinion survey and, consequently, the final ranking remained in the same order. The project and results received considerable coverage by local media and were approved by the City Council.

With the completion of the fourth stage, ranking of local environmental problems, the first phase of the Community- Based Environmental Action Project was complete.

Phase 2 (July 1994 - present): LEAP creation.

1. Organizing the project.

Three established working groups dealt with different problems according to the previous ranking:

• Ambient air pollution;
• Drinking water pollution;
• Terrain contamination (including soil pollution and solid wastes).

This stage was to identify and study possible action and make their selections based on cost-effectiveness, ability to be implemented within a relatively short period of time, potential to improve both the environment and residents' quality of life and acceptability to the public.

A workshop, "Setting strategies for solving the environmental problems of Stara Zagora," was organized for project members, the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Finance officials, and staff of REI. Seminars covered topics such as national policy related to air pollution reduction and its solution, and strategies for energy efficiency. Discussions included strategies related to the impact of local government mandates and national policies on local- and national- level; a list of possible strategies for each of four environmental problems was elaborated.

2. Defining clearer goals and strategies.

Work groups collected information about strategies, identifying two major strategies for reducing air pollution from low-stack sources:

• conversion of district heating from high sulphur coal to natural gas;
• energy efficiency.

More detailed steps were identified for each strategy. Participants agreed that conversion to gas should be pursued as soon as possible and defined specific steps, some of which are:

• implementing a municipal program for a gas distribution network for industrial and domestic consumers;
• designing a mechanism to make small loans available to households;
• public outreach and information;
• development of a set of incentives/disincentives for gas heating.

Two necessary steps were undertaken prior to implementation of selected strategy, addressing the top priority problem (air pollution from low-stack and mobile sources):

1. The city government, authorized by a decree of the City Council, formed a partnership with the Bulgarian company, Overgas Inc., for the construction of the gas distribution network. The purpose of this partnership was to establish the institutional vehicle to supply the city with a clean, efficient and economic fuel source and thus abate air pollution. However, difficulties arose with households due to the poor financial condition of both the city and many residents. City officials realized that for this purpose they would need the support of national agencies that could assist the municipality in exploring possibilities and look for financing opportunities.
2. A national task force (TF) was formed primarily to coordinate the Stara Zagora project with other NEAP activities, and to act as a role model to other municipalities. The TF included ministries, municipal government, and businesses. Sharing information about Stara Zagora project and involving national agencies through the TF proved instrumental in the financing of the household conversion to gas. The Ministry of Environment, TF and USAID selected the Stara Zagora household fuel conversion project as eligible to receive the US$ 1 million from the USAID NEAP project financing grant. All these activities are accompanied by a consistent public awareness campaign in the media and residents' preferred information sources.

The actual implementation was preceded by a number of steps designed to provide answers to questions about cost, willingness and demand for conversion, loan terms and mechanisms. For this purpose:

• cost of gas connections and conversions was assessed for the different types of households;
• a household survey was conducted to assess demand for gas and willingness to take out loans;
• members of the TF and experts were consulted about the legal constraints and possibilities to establish and run a municipal loan program.

Conclusions

Achievements

Cooperation

Capacity building

Education/training

Dialogue

Experience transfer

Weaknesses

Information

Resistance within the community

Sustainability

Foreign input

Obstacles

Unclear laws and responsibilities