Together for nature - citizens for green future

The Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation has launched the three-year project “Together for Nature – Citizens for a Green Future”, aimed at nature conservation through strengthened civic engagement, work with local communities, and cooperation with responsible businesses and public institutions.

“Together for Nature” is implemented by a consortium of six Bulgarian and two Swiss organisations with long-standing experience in nature conservation, sustainable development and community-based work. The project is one of three strategic initiatives funded under the Swiss-Bulgarian Cooperation Programme – Civic Engagement and Transparency Mechanism (CETM) 2024–2029.

Partner organisations include: the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds, WWF Bulgaria, the Association of Parks in Bulgaria, the BIOSelena Foundation for Organic Agriculture, the Bulgarian Association for Alternative Tourism, Pro Natura and Helvetas.

Within the project, the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation acts as the lead organisation, responsible for coordinating project implementation and carrying out activities related to civic participation, monitoring the enforcement of environmental legislation, and biodiversity conservation advocacy.

Key activities of the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation

As part of the project, BBF implements activities related to civic engagement, environmental legislation enforcement and biodiversity advocacy, including:

• monitoring the implementation of environmental legislation and supporting citizens and civil society organisations in environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedures;
• working on specific conservation cases through expert analyses, opinions and follow-up of administrative and public processes;
• providing consultations and expert support to citizens and local initiatives engaged in nature protection;
• contributing to advocacy efforts aimed at improving legislation and public participation mechanisms;
• coordinating and participating in activities of the Coalition “For the Nature in Bulgaria”, focused on strengthening civil society and the environmental NGO sector.

The project builds on the experience of the initiative “For the Balkan and the People” (2012–2017), implemented with the support of Switzerland and awarded the Natura 2000 Award for socio-economic benefits.

Funding

The project is funded by the Swiss-Bulgarian Cooperation Programme – Civic Engagement and Transparency Mechanism (CETM) 2024–2029.

Duration: 3 years – from June 2025 to 30 September 2028.