Bulgarian Association of Municipal Environmental Experts (BAMEE) is a non-profit national association of environmental professionals – municipal environmental experts, engineers in Bulgarian municipalities, companies and other NGOs, consultants and other interested parties. BAMEE is a professional organization dedicated to the preservation of the environment by creating and promoting sustainable, municipal environmental policy/. BAMEE works to enhance and improve the environmental system at local and national level. BAMEE is providing an atmosphere for an open exchange of ideas, cooperation and self support among municipal environmental experts, providing environment for professional development of municipal environmental engineers, protecting their rights and assisting businesses to improve their communication with municipalities, concerning environmental problems.. BAMEE is promoting eco-initiatives to the general public, assuring access to information and active involvement of society in decision making processes. It is a recognized and respected representative and proponent of the local authorities in environmental field.

Mission

BAMEE works to enhance and improve the professional capacity of the local experts and improve the Environmental management system /EMS/ in Bulgaria.

Organization Summary and history

Bulgarian Association of Municipal Environmental Experts has been Bulgaria’s only professional association for municipal environmental engineers since 1992. It was established in July 1992, but was not officially registered until 1994. The official registration was on 6th of June 1994 at the Burgas Regional court. The idea for the BAMEE came from the annual meeting of environmental experts working in the municipalities with heavy environmental problems, so called at that time “Hot spots”. These meetings are now organized twice a year with the involvement of all municipalities and different governmental, nongovernmental and business representatives. Until now the association has been involved in a many environmental projects and initiatives. BAMEE also serves as partner in various projects to organizations, which have similar goals to ours. In such partnership projects, BAMEE provides expert advice, opinions and voluntary manpower. BAMEE often serves also as a project coordinating body and organizer for all the project partners. BAMEE contributes qualified support for its members, helps for the distribution of the project results and information and the organizing of meetings, seminars and training on environmental issues. In the BAMEE’s annual conferences are participating representatives from Environmental commission of the National Assembly, Presidency, and different government institutions like Ministries, National committees and business companies. The Bulgarian Association of Municipal Environmental Experts regularly sends opinions and recommendations for project-environmental laws and regulations. The members of the Association are educated and responsible persons, highly motivated to work on the front-line of the environmental problems in the municipalities, to correspond with all parties and group in solving them.

The organization was founded to contribute to sustainable development in Bulgaria by improving the decision – making process, strengthening local institutions and developing the civil society. The goals of the Bulgarian Association of Municipal Environmental Experts are:

– to provide a forum for the exchange of experience and knowledge among the specialists, who work in the field collecting and distributing information about environmental problems at the local level and their impact on public health,

– to support municipalities in developing and implementing environmental policy,

– to work for increasing and improving the qualification of the municipal environmental experts.

– to enhance the capabilities for environmental decision – making and improve human capacities in environmental management.

– to promote democratization at the regional and local levels.

We have regular and close relationships with local authorities – with the mayors of members’ municipalities. We are collecting materials for the database and publishing of a book, which will contain brief summaries of municipal environmental problems. Our members periodically are presenting the environmental problems of the municipality via local medias.

Recently we are working also on defining and creating a statute for the role of the municipal environmental experts, organizing regional expert groups with specialists from different fields, forming of “emergency action groups” to serve as consultants.

In the field of Environmental Education we are working on receiving accreditation from the government for providing professional training and education for specialist and operators from environmental management system.

Organizational structure

Bulgarian Association of Municipal Environmental Experts is a voluntary non – profit, non-government organization, founded according Bulgarian law. Its members, primarily experts working in administrative structures in the municipalities, are from all over the country. The main governing body of the association is the General Assembly. It has two annual sessions and conferences in different “host” municipalities. At these meetings the General Assembly discusses specific local problems and more general issues. The General Assembly elects the others structures: Board of Directors and Auditing Commission. The Board of Directors appoints the President, Vice President and Executive Secretary from among its members.

Leadership (names of board members, officers, etc.) and Personnel (paid stuff, volunteers, etc.).

President – Asya Dobrudjalieva – Kurdjaly Municipality

Vice-president – Teodora Petkova – Dobrich Municipality

Members of the Board –

1. Pavlin Mihov – Burgas Municipality;

2. Milcho Cenkov – Varna Municipality;

3. Irena Petkova – Sofia Regional Environmental Inspectorate

4. Nikolay Sidjimov – Sliven Municipality

5. Svetlana Vasileva – Sofia Municipality

6. Diana Nikolova – Nesebar Municipality

7. Daniela Borisova – Harmanly Municipality

Executive Director – Nikolay Sidjimov

Prgram and Training Director – Mariana Hristova

Commercial Director – Ivan Ivanov

Membership

Members of the Bulgarian Association of Municipal Environmental Experts are physical persons actively involved in solving environmental problems of the municipalities, coordinating the different governmental structures and levels, and increasing public awareness of environmental problems. Almost all of the major cities in Bulgaria have representatives in the BAMEE. Members of the Association are also journalists, businessmen, government officers from ministries, and members from national and regional institutions.

The Ministry of Environment is actively involved in the work of the Association and we have a good working relationship with them.

Currently, there are 230 members from 165 different municipalities.

Services

BAMEE works closely with the municipalities and supports their activities in programming and project development, provides a variety of services to its members, municipalities, governmental bodies and businesses, including the scheduling and coordination of a number of activities and events. These include conferences and seminars, environmental exhibitions, monthly meetings for information sharing.

In addition we provide direct services to businesses that include professional consultations, lobbying services to represent our members with government agencies, communications in the form of a monthly newsletter and regular monthly meetings as well as special bulletins, and group benefits such as coordinating our members’ dealings with governmental institutions, organizing database with experts and axes to that and other data bases, office services in Sofia and support.

BAMEE developed WEB portal that provides for its members and constituencies updated information and axes trough the Internet to discussion forums, professional information, inter-member information distribution, a permanent online education facility, and the development of a new modules and professional training courses.

Among the services planned for the future are: bringing the BAMEE members onto the Internet for developing discussion forum and inter-member information distribution, a permanent education facility, and the development of a new modules and professional training courses.

1. Establishing a permanent education facility, and the development of a new modules and professional training courses.

2. Enhancing and revealing the databases, developed from BAMEE and providing Internet axes to DB for all members. Development of discussion forum and inter-member information distribution.

3. Promoting exhibition for the environmental problems of the Bulgarian municipalities.

4. Providing consultancy and support for the municipalities in developing environmental programs and action plans, establishing new bylaws, researches and elaboration of strategic and political instruments.

Projects:

1. Publishing monthly bulletin – 1993 – 2004 – Sponsors – REC, KHF, FLGR, MoEW, Municipalities.

2. Development of Municipal Environmental Action Plans. – 1993, Funded by World resources Institute, Washington, USA

3. Trainings for municipal environmental experts – 1994 – 2005, continues.

4. Development of better understanding and partnership between NGOs, municipalities, government institutions and business sector. – USAID, 1996

5. Improving the waste management system in Bulgaria – DIFD 1998

6. Administrative capacity building – FLGR, 2000

7. Development of better waste treatment practices in small municipalities – FLGR.2004

8. Strengthening of administrative capacity at local level for implementation of environmental legislation. – PHARE

9. Assistance in regional and municipal waste management planning, implementation and enforcement of legal requirements in waste management sector – PHARE

10. Further development of administrative capacity in implementation of the environmental acquis at local level, Bulgaria – PHARE

11. Demonstration project for recycling of electric and electronic waste – LIFE+ Program.

12. Increasing the capacity of local authorities on waste management and reducing the Carbon footprint – pilot model for biodegradable waste management in Dobrich Municipality – GEF

13. European week for waste reduction – National organizer – Ministry of environment and waters.

14. European Clean-up day – Ministry of environment and waters.

15. Transparency in waste management – NGO Programme in Bulgaria under the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area!

16. Effective techniques and measures for successful integration 2014 – 2015, National Employment Agency

17. Circular Economy for SMEs – Interreg Europe , 2016 – 2019

18. Effective mediation in environmental conflicts – adequate tool for citizens control and support of the reform in justice. – BG05SFOP001-3.003-016

19. Effective mediation in environmental conflicts – adequate tool for citizens control and support of the reform in justice – upgrade- BG05SFOP001-3.003-0072

20. „SMART WASTE – Innovation in waste management policies “ Interreg Europe