As the Compendium of good community practices related to biodiversity conservation and climate change that we are developing in the frame of the Erasmus+ “Climate Champions” project is going to be launched soon, we continue the dissemination of the case studies that we collected during this period. This time, the good practice comes from Bulgaria: Community “Water Protectors”.
Green Peace Bulgaria together with more that 30 experts in water conservation, protection and management are the volunteering association and the persons involved in the initiative. The good practice is about e-learning platform developed by Green Peace Bulgaria. The platform aims at creating a “Water Guards” community to exchange knowledge and realize activities aimed at water resources preservation in Bulgaria. To achieve its goal, the platform is a place for series of webinars and regular information events, organized with the help of experts and scientists from different fields presenting various topics such as: the impact of climate change on water resources; the impact of hydro power plants on rivers and their biodiversity; actions that could protect water.
The platform facilitates the creation of a community to which everyone interested will be able to join and the participants will have the opportunity to meet others involved, share problems and face and seek solutions to deal with them together as a community. Involvement in the initiative is done by subscribing to a special bulleting “Water Guards”, through which stakeholders are informed about the development of topics and initiatives that are planned.
Mr. Balinov stated "Civil society has become a critical stakeholder in environmental decision-making processes and a valued partner in implementing and monitoring environmental policies at the local and national level. When their capacities are adequately developed and respective tools are available, civil society organizations (CSOs) can play important role in nature preservation and climate change actions.”
Website link for the good practice: https://www.greenpeace.org/bulgaria/istorii/7499/nachalo-obshtnost-paziteli-na-vodata/