Water utilities in the Burgas and Varna regions will get more than €180m, environment and water minister Rositsa Karamfilova-Blagova has said. She spoke online at the "strategic dialogue" of the second international forum "Black Sea 2030: Security, Sustainability, Innovation" in Burgas.
The projects include the Elenite complex, which was hit by flooding last year.
Another €38m from the Environment programme is set aside to help coastal municipalities cope better with climate change. A further €11m will go to control landslides and other natural risks.
The ministry is working in three main areas: water quality, protecting ecosystems and protecting coastal areas. It is now updating its strategy for protecting ecosystems. In recent days, ministry staff have been out in the field checking the state of the marine environment.
More than 96% of bathing areas in Bulgaria have excellent water quality. Karamfilova-Blagova called this a good result, but said it holds only with constant effort. She said more must be done to protect marine ecosystems and cut waste in the sea.
"Data alone does not protect people," she said. The minister said money and strategies are not enough for real progress, and that better management and coordination between institutions are needed. Black Sea municipalities must work together and keep in touch with scientists at universities and institutes.
The aim, she said, is concrete results: lower risk for people, better prepared coastal communities and cleaner water. She called protecting the Black Sea an investment in national security, the economy and the country's future, not just a way to meet EU requirements.
Karamfilova-Blagova said Bulgaria should take an active part in shaping future EU rules for the seas. The features of the Black Sea, she said, must be taken into account through a regional approach in the European Ocean Pact. Bulgaria should work actively with Romania and the other countries of the Danube-Black Sea basin, she added.
The minister warned that the continuing military action in the Black Sea poses risks to marine ecosystems.
The forum brings together representatives of institutions, European organisations, science and business. They are discussing Black Sea security, protection of the marine environment, the region's development, and the role of research and innovation. The organisers want institutions, scientists and business to work together and find concrete solutions for a secure future for the Black Sea region.