site.btaEnvironment Minister Genov Highlights Achievements and Future Goals of National Trust EcoFund

On Monday, at an anniversary celebration in Sofia, Minister of Environment and Water Manol Genov described the National Trust EcoFund (NTEF) as a pivotal government partner that helps Bulgaria design environmental policy, advance energy management, and introduce climate-adaptation measures at the municipal level.

Genov emphasized that the organization’s activities complement the country’s broader aspiration to achieve climate neutrality within the European Union by the year two thousand and fifty.

Genov explained that NTEF is financed through several streams. These include revenue derived from the trading of greenhouse-gas emission allowances, programmes under the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism, and contributions from a range of other bilateral and multilateral donors. Thanks to these diverse sources, the Fund has become a reliable instrument for mobilising private capital in support of public environmental projects.

Since its establishment in nineteen ninety-five, NTEF has provided support for more than five hundred initiatives submitted by municipalities, schools, universities, private companies, research institutes, and civil-society organisations. The cumulative value of these projects amounts to nearly BGN 121 million. Many of the undertakings are either innovative in concept or pilot in scale and cover areas such as biodiversity conservation, management of water resources, reduction of air pollution, the improvement of environmental and climate education, and energy-efficiency upgrades in schools, kindergartens, community centres, and hospitals.

Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, said: “I am very glad that we are celebrating the anniversary of the EcoFund on the Day of Botev, June 2. What we have inherited from the past is to always look forward. The establishment of the EcoFund was part of Bulgaria's institutional transformation. It was founded in 1995 and together with the country itself, it went through a transition from almost absent market economy institutions to today’s well-functioning market economy.”

The ceremony was hosted by NTEF Management Council head Dimitar Nenkov , together with the NTEF team. The gathering brought together the ambassadors of Germany and Switzerland, Irene Plank and Raymund Furrer, respectively; the World Bank’s permanent representative to Bulgaria, Lasse Melgaard; former environment ministers Evdokiya Maneva, Nona Karadzhova, and Ivelina Vasileva, and several mayors and sectoral experts.

NTEF, established in 1995 through a debt-for-environment agreement with Switzerland, is Bulgaria’s main public institution for environmental funding. For nearly 30 years, NTEF has supported over 500 projects focused on climate change, biodiversity, water management, and environmental restoration. In addition to providing grants, the Fund helps shape national environmental policy and supports sustainable infrastructure projects. It requires co-financing to ensure long-term impact.

NTEF was instrumental during Bulgaria’s EU accession, a time when environmental funding and project capacity were limited. Key projects supported by NTEF included cleaning pollution from the Pirdop copper smelter, restoring old landfills, and treating hazardous waste, according to the ministry.