site.bta Government Adopts National State of Environment Report for 2014

Government Adopts National State of Environment Report for 2014

Sofia, May 25 (BTA) - The Government adopted a National Report on the State and Protection of the Environment for 2014, Environment and Water Minister Ivelina Vassileva told journalists at the Council of Ministers Wednesday.

The report shows that  energy and natural resource consumption involving emissions of harmful substances in the air, water and soil and large quantities of waste continue to be the largest sources of unfavourable impact on the environment. An increase in end energy consumption was observed in 2014, up 2.9 per cent on 2013.

Transport emits 40 per cent of the nitrogen oxide and 24 per cent of carbon oxide emissions. Nevertheless, carbon oxide emissions from transport dropped by 56 per cent in 2014 and of nitrogen oxides by 18 per cent compared to 2001.

A reduction of the mean annual concentration and the number of excess mean 24-hour excess dust particles was registered in a number of cities in the 2011-2014 period. Compared to 2011, 29 of all monitoring stations reported a drop in the average annual concentration and 28 showed a reduction of the recorded mean 24-hour excesses.

The trend of rising ambient air temperatures, which began at the end of the 1970s continues. In Bulgaria, 2014 was one of the warmest years in the 1988-2014 period with an average annual temperature of 12.3 degrees.

Access to potable water has been provided through water supply services for 99.3 per cent of the country's population, which puts Bulgaria in a favourable position compared to other European countries. The share of the population connected to urban waste water treatment plants increased from 41 per cent in 2005 to 56.8 per cent in 2014. At the end of 2014 there were 32 cities with over 10,000 residents and 117 settlements with a population of 2,000-10,000 without waste water treatment plants.

In 2013-2014 the National Biodiversity Monitoring System functioned at full capacity for the first time, with field observations of 697 species at designated places for monitoring. By the end of 2014, the Council of Ministers designated 340 protected areas of the NATURA 2000 network covering a total of 34.4 per cent of the country's territory.

The data from noise level measurements in 2014 show that the permissible levels were exceeded at 72 per cent of the control checkpoints across the country. The relative share of checkpoints which registered higher levels was unchanged from 2013.

The positive trend in waste recycling continues, indicative of the increase at national level and the application of waste management hierarchy. In 2014, 31 per cent of the waste was submitted for recycling, compared to 21 per cent on 2008. The quantity of household waste remains relatively stable in recent years and the national target of 25 per cent recycled household waste was achieved. Nevertheless, waste disposal still remains the most popular method of treatment. In Romania they have 6 kg of waste for recycling per capita, while in Germany the amount is 284 kg. Bulgaria reports 108 kg per capita, Vassileva said. The standard for recycling waste packaging in Bulgaria is 62.2 per cent, while the EU average is 60 per cent, she added.

In 2014, the expenditure for protection and restoration of the environment at national level amounted to 2,293.4 million leva, 2.7 per cent of GDP. Expenditure increased by 9.3 per cent compared to 2013, by 35.4 per cent compared to 2012, and by 59.4 per cent compared to 2011.

Revenues to the account of the Enterprise for Management of Environmental Protection Activities by type of law for 2014 amounted to 127,799,496 leva, nearly double the amount for 2013. A total of 46,025,769 leva (nearly 2.2 million leva more than in 2013) were spent, including 32,319,892 leva in grants for investment projects, 4,826,591 leva for the implementation of non-investment projects, 3,238,202 leva for policies in administration, and 5,640,519 leva transferred to the Environment and Water Ministry.