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Civic empowerment through strengthening the campaign for the protection of wild nature in Bulgaria

The primary goal of the project is to inspire broad civic participation in preserving Bulgarian natural heritage, using the campaign for keeping Rila mountain unspoiled and un-industrialized from mass tourism as a focalizer. Overall, the project will contribute to making the citizens feel part of a platform uniting people and groups in the struggle for preserving Rila mountain and the remaining wild nature in Bulgaria. The process is aimed to create a sense of empowerment and growing self-confidence in people's ability to take part in (and influence) the decision-making processes that concern nature protection.

Finally, by making the campaign for Rila mountain a successful example of civil control over the institutions, the project aims at challenging the common “nothing-depends-on-us” attitude among Bulgarians who are sensitive about nature preservation topics.

The specific objectives of the project are to:

• Develop a strategy for the campaign for Rila with the broad and active participation of citizens who have been involved in the campaign until now;
• Foster civic activity skills through innovative educational forms – interactive role-playing discussions for solving social problems;
• Create prerequisites for the multiplication of the successful campaign in the regions and places in Bulgaria where citizens feel disempowered;
• Enforce the effective communication of the campaign to different target groups.

A broad coalition of Bulgarian non-governmental organizations and citizens' groups has initiated the campaign for preserving Rila and stopping the illegal construction. Scores of demonstrations and other activities were organized in the capital Sofia and in big cities. A network of informal working groups for Rila, called “Citizens for Rila”, was formed in the whole country. The groups work on their own initiatives, as well as together with all other groups in the campaign. They have organized information meetings, public actions, photo exhibitions, concerts and others. More than 160,000 people from Bulgaria and all over the world signed under a petition demanding the halt of illegal construction in the mountain which was sent to the European Parliament (EP). After this widespread support for preserving the mountain, a fact-finding mission of the Committee on Petitions of the EP was scheduled to visit Bulgaria in the end of October on grounds of the construction in Rila.

We believe that supporting the efforts of citizens to preserve Bulgaria’s natural heritage is of utmost importance in order to raise greater awareness for these problems among the society at large. These are efforts not only to protect nature, but to awaken civic consciousness. In the last couple of years, biodiversity protection has been the single cause in Bulgaria that could attract thousands of people on the streets. People however protested not only against the destruction of Bulgarian nature, but against the factors that allow it and make them feel disempowered – the lack of strict implementation of the laws, the corruption, the complacency of the authorities that feel invulnerable and accountable to no one. People started to believe they can change the policies and attitudes of the authorities if they are inspired and organized well. This process must continue, giving people and groups from different cities the opportunity to connect with each other, unite and become stronger so that their voice can be heard.

Activities:

• Organize and conduct an information tour about the Rila problem in 9 cities to launch the project. The tour is aimed at attracting new members of the campaign crew, and also to inform the general public about new developments with the illegal construction works, taking place in Rila mountain. The tour will include presentations, interactive discussions and film screenings in a public and easily accessible space in each of the towns.
• Organize civil activity trainings and meetings of Citizens for Rila and other citizens willing to participate. As a follow-up action of the information tour, a series of trainings in each of the cities, where interest has been expressed would take place. Thus a maximum of nine trainings in the months March – September 2009.
• Organize two strategic planning retreats. The functioning and effectiveness of a loose network of informal groups and collectives, united around the preservation of Rila mountain (and the Bulgarian nature), in an atmosphere of horizontality and non-hierarchical decision-making, is highly dependent on the self-responsibility and good coordination between all members. For this reason, local trainings and e-mail correspondence is far from enough. Strategy meetings attended by members of all local groups are required at least twice a year. At the strategy meetings, evaluations of the effectiveness of the network, or the team dynamics, or the campaign for Rila in general would be conducted and working plans for the coming months made up. At the meetings, the needs and problems of the campaign and of the different local groups would be discussed, and improvements suggested.
• Hold two practical initiatives for the civil groups within Citizens for Rila. In order to create the activities of Citizens for Rila crew less abstract (or focusing on public awareness and advocacy activities only) two practical events would be scheduled. The events would also show to the ski resort developers, local people and the media that the so-called young environmentalists undertake practical actions to protect or restore nature areas. The first practical activity for the Citizens for Rila team would be an action for planting local tree species. The second practical event organized by Citizens for Rila for members of Citizens for Rila and the general public will be a mountain clean-up action.
• Publish a handbook “How can I be an active citizen”. The handbook will contain summarized information from the topics discussed in the civil activity trainings and practical information for the participants and other citizens on how they can apply the knowledge gained during the trainings in the context of preserving Bulgaria’s protected areas.
• Publish a brochure about the campaign for Rila in 1000 copies. The brochure will provide up-to-date information about the development of illegal projects in Rila, the initiatives undertaken in the campaign, the successes of the campaign and details how people can get in touch with the citizens’ groups and help the campaign.
• Organize and hold 3 large public demonstrations in Bulgarian cities. Practice has shown that one of the few ways environmentalists in Bulgaria can attract media attention and get in the news is through organizing big street demonstrations. When preparing these public demonstrations citizens need help with publishing announcement posters and flyers and making banners.
• Collect up-to-date information on the development of investment plans in Rila and conduct on-site field trips and inspections. Citizens will regularly check the progress of investors’ activities in the mountains once every month by visiting the sites where construction is going on or planned – the facilities in the Super Panichishte, Super Borovets, Iskrovete, and Kartala projects in Rila mountain. The citizens will collect photos and footage which will be sent to experts in the nature protection NGOs.

Expected Results:

- increased public awareness about being an active citizen, as well as motivation to work for the preservation of Rila mountain and Bulgarian nature
- improved coordination within the Citizens for Rila network, and improved collaboration between the environmental NGOs and the non-formal civil groups
- improved effectiveness in the functioning of the local groups in terms of passing their message to the public at large, to the local people and the media
- increased pressure of the campaign for Rila on the national government
- improved monitoring of the construction works developments at all places around Rila
- increase in the number of actively functioning local collectives, working for Rila mountain protection (at the moment, such exist in Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna mainly)