Legislation :: Conventions on BD

The national legislations alone are not efficient enough for preserving and managing biological diversity, especially in cases concerning resources outside the sovereign borders of the states e.g. open sea and ocean areas, sea bottom, and Antarctica. Plant and animal species are unaware of the state borders and their populations, with small exceptions, are shared between several countries.

Large part of the global biodiversity is concentrated in the developing countries which usually are not able to provide the resources necessary for preserving and managing this diversity. It is therefore recommended that the states, which possess the necessary funds and which are in most of the cases the main consumers of resources, share the benefits which they derive from biodiversity.

A step towards solving these problems is provided by the conventions and other international treaties. In spite of the lack of coordination, omissions and overlaps that appear in the course of their drafting and implementation, they are one of the most powerful means for biodiversity conservation and management.

According to the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria, the conventions ratified by the Parliament, being part of the international legislation, are obligatory for Bulgaria and they have priority over the national laws in case contradictions arise with some of these laws.

Ministry of Environment and Water

The National Nature Protection Service (NNPS) is the specialized directorate of the Ministry of Environment and Water which conducts the national policy related to biodiversity and protected areas. The NNPS web site provides information about conventions, directives and agreements- listed under the “INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS" section of the main menu.

http://chm.moew.government.bg/nnps/IndexDetailsE.cfm?vID=5

The Convention on Wetlands, called the Ramsar Convention

“The Designation and Management of Ramsar Sites” new guidebook is now available on the Ramsar Convention website.

The guidebook was produced for those involved in the designation and management of Ramsar Sites and it is based on materials identified by the Ramsar Secretariat and the Convention’s experts and partners.

The guidebook includes simplified information on the process how to designate a Ramsar Site. It is written in a simple, non-technical language so that it can reach out to, and be adapted by many stakeholders working within Ramsar Sites. The process of designation is linked also to a four-stage management cycle. It includes five case studies that provide supplementary information for several steps in the Ramsar Site designation and management process.

The document provides also guidance on how management of Ramsar Sites can contribute to the implementation of the Ramsar Convention Strategic Plan 2016 – 2024 and other international processes.

The publication was developed by the Ramsar Regional Center – East Asia (RRC-EA), in collaboration with the Ramsar Convention Secretariat, Ramsar Convention Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP), and WWT Consulting.

Bulgarian Biodiversity Platform

Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation provides at its web site a list of laws, conventions, programmes, and strategies.

International Legislation

Ministry of Environment and Water

The official Internet site of the Ministry of Environment and Water provides access to information and the texts of international conventions and agreements signed and ratified by Bulgaria. In addition, a detailed list of the European directives and regulations and the national legislative acts, through which the national environmental legislation is harmonized with the European one, is available.

Cooperation :: Conventions European Integration :: Nature Protection

About Biodiversity Conventions

Direct access to the official web sites of the conventions aimed at biodiversity conservation is provided in the article “Conventions- links to the official web sites" where a list of links is included. Another article titled “Biodiversity Related Conventions: Overview" offers short description of the aims and priorities of these international documents.