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Statement of Habitat Bulgaria on the Voluntary National Review of the progress of Bulgaria in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN.

In February 2020, the Bulgarian Ministry of the Foreign Affairs submitted to the Council of Ministers the Voluntary National Review of Bulgaria of the progress in the implementation of each of the 17 SDGs of the UN. The review was published on the portal for public consultations of the Cabinet on February 20, 2020.

Habitat Bulgaria developed a position on the VNR and published it on the portal on March 5, 2020.

HFH Bulgaria’s position includes a general comment that for each of the 17 SDGs, there are specific objectives, which specify what, how much and until when, the countries, incl. Bulgaria, have committed to achieve. In view of this, HFH Bulgaria recommends that the review of the progress should exhibit the progress concerning the specific objectives and their indicators as adopted by the UN. Additional arguments are to be found in the guidelines for the assessment of the progress in the implementation of the SDGs, which recommend that:

• The conclusions have to be based on empirical evidence allowing tangible measurement;
• Particular steps, which the countries intend to make in the near future and the years to follow, in order to speed up the progress, shall be identified.

HFH Bulgaria also elaborates on SDG 1, SDG 7 and SDG 11and some of their specific objectives to adduce several critical comments about the following:

The review does not show what the values of the indicators were by September 2015 and what they are now, i.e. are there homeless people, inadequate housing, informal housing, access to basic infrastructure and utilities, ghettos and the share of the population living in ghettos and is there any progress and what actions have been planned.

HFH Bulgaria reminds that the National Housing Strategy drafted in 2017 – 2018 has not been adopted and the country has no long-term housing policies, which would guarantee the improvement of the housing conditions by 2030.

HFH Bulgaria indicates that a statement included in the review that “The economically deprived regions and vulnerable groups of the population are given a priority in the renovation of the housing stock…” contradicts with the practice in the funding of housing renovation projects by the National Program for EE of the Multifamily buildings.

In conclusion, HFH Bulgaria recommends a revision of the document in a way, which objectively shows the progress of the country in the implementation of the goals based on the approved indicators.

05 March 2020,
Sofia

Mincho Benov
National Director, Habitat Bulgaria

Read more: СТАНОВИЩЕ на Фондация „Подслон за човечеството“ / Habitat for Humanity Bulgaria

Within the three-year campaign (2018 – 2020), Habitat Bulgaria continues its successful series of meetings and volunteer actions with municipalities and universities, focusing on the challenges and opportunities of urbanization, as well as improving of the urban environment.

During the workshops, the options for renovation of the poor neighbourhoods were discussed – namely, improving living conditions and providing access to basic sanitation. Currently, one in every seven people on the planet lives in unduly built and overcrowded urban areas, with insufficient infrastructure, often without access to electricity and water.

There was also discussion about the need to improve land rights. Globally, 75% of people do not have adequate documentation of the land on which they live, and millions live in constant fear of eviction. At the same time, they do not want to leave their homes, where they have sometimes lived their entire lives. Habitat for Humanity experts are adamant that with secured property or right to use, people will live without fear of eviction and invest more in their families, communities and the future.

In 2018 and 2019, in the campaign took part the municipalities of Smyadovo, Targovishte, Antonovo, Gabrovo, Kyustendil, Dupnitsa, Nessebar, Burgas, Sungurlare, Sofia – Nadezhda district, Simitli, Pavlikeni, Lyaskovets, Gorna Oryahovitsa, Botevgrad, Samokov , Mezdra, Stara Zagora, Lom and Pravets, as well as the universities – University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy (UACEG), New Bulgarian University (NBU), Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” (Sofia University) and the University of Forestry (LTU). Over 2000 participants, including representatives of the municipal administration, youth and non-governmental organizations, citizens and the media, actively participated in the initiatives.

Through the activities conducted, Habitat Bulgaria aims to show that the path to sustainable cities and a decent life for everyone goes not only through state and municipal policies, but also through our personal responsibility and our actions as citizens and neighbours.

For context
Countries around the world are increasingly driven by the desire to revive the global commitment to sustainable urbanization:
● UN Sustainable Development Goals adopted in New York in September 2015 include SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities.
● The New Urban Agenda was adopted in October 2016 in Quito, Ecuador, at the United Nations Third Global Conference on Housing Policies and Sustainable Urban Development Habitat III.
● The Urban Agenda for the EU was adopted during the Dutch EU Presidency on 30 May 2016 with the Amsterdam Pact.

About Solid Ground:
Habitat for Humanity launched Solid Ground, a global advocacy campaign to improve access to land for shelter. The four-year campaign, which committed to influencing land policies and systems, resulted in more than 3 million people with increased access to safe and secure land in over 40 countries around the world.
http://buildsolidground.bg
https://habitat.org/emea/impact/our-campaigns/build-solid-ground
http://solidgroundcampaign.org

With two National Housing Forums held in 2013 and 2016, Habitat Bulgaria has sharpened the attention of institutions and the public on the need to improve housing conditions in the country. This year, the organization is focusing on the growing need to secure access to housing and renovate poor neighborhoods by organizing the third National Housing Forum with the focus on access to housing and renovation of the poor neighborhoods. The forum is implemented within the Build Solid Ground project, approved and funded by the Development Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO) under the Development Education and Awareness Raising (DEAR) strand. Partners of the event are the French Institute in Bulgaria and the Wienerberger Group.

Countries in the world are increasingly driven by the desire to revive a global commitment to sustainable urbanization. In September 2015, at the New York Summit on Sustainable Development, the United Nations adopted a new development agenda called: “Transforming the World: Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development”. The document identified 17 global sustainable development goals and in particular, Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities. The first of its 10 specific objectives is to: “Ensure that everyone has access to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services by 2030, and that ghettos and poor neighborhoods are renovated.”

In October 2016, more than 167 countries welcomed the New Urban Agenda in Quito, Ecuador, during the United Nations Third Global Conference on Housing Policies and Sustainable Urban Development Habitat III. During the Dutch EU Presidency, on 30 May 2016, the Amsterdam Pact was adopted, which established the Urban Agenda for the EU.

These important global developments have identified the main highlights of the Forum agenda:

Panel I. Agenda 2030, Global Sustainable Development Goal 11 and Access to Housing for All and Poverty Refurbishment by 2030. The global framework outlined by the Sustainable Development Goals. UN, Habitat III – The New Urban Agenda, Urban Agenda for Europe.
Panel II. Bulgaria and Agenda 2030 on access to housing and renovation of poor neighborhoods. The position of the institutions committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in terms of access to housing and renovation of poor neighborhoods.
Panel IІI. Non-governmental sector initiatives to improve housing conditions and partner with municipalities for housing policies.
Panel IV. Good practices of Bulgarian municipalities for improving the living conditions in poor neighborhoods. The challenges that Bulgarian municipalities face for renovating poor neighborhoods and the approaches they apply to securing the right of access to housing.
The full program of the event can be viewed in Bulgarian HERE.

The participants of the forum, including over 80 top-level local experts, discussed that Bulgaria, as a party to a number of international agreements, has committed itself to achieving the set goals, but at present the level of implementation is unsatisfactory. The right of access to housing is not explicitly enshrined in Bulgarian law. For decades, no solution has been found for illegal constructions, which are the sole home of their inhabitants. The municipalities do not have the housing and financial resources to provide alternative accommodation for the needy. Poor neighborhoods are often unregulated and lacking the necessary infrastructure.

“The draft National Housing Strategy, which was published for public consultation, did not address the real problems of the so-called segregated areas. I hope in the improved version of the document we will find the answer to the question of how we will solve the housing problems of the people who live in these areas and how to overcome poverty”, emphasizes Daniela Ushatova, Team Leader “Municipal Services and Finance”, National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria.

Those in attendance agreed that the adoption of a long-term and pragmatic national housing policy, supported by targeted funding, is needed to address these issues. The Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works (MRDPW) is in the process of developing and discussing a new National Housing Strategy, which should show the political will to secure the right of access to housing and renovation of poor neighborhoods.

For context
Countries around the world are increasingly driven by the desire to revive the global commitment to sustainable urbanization:
● UN Sustainable Development Goals adopted in New York in September 2015 include SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities.
● The New Urban Agenda was adopted in October 2016 in Quito, Ecuador, at the United Nations Third Global Conference on Housing Policies and Sustainable Urban Development Habitat III.
● The Urban Agenda for the EU was adopted during the Dutch EU Presidency on 30 May 2016 with the Amsterdam Pact.

About Solid Ground:
Habitat for Humanity launched Solid Ground, a global advocacy campaign to improve access to land for shelter. The four-year campaign, which committed to influencing land policies and systems, resulted in more than 3 million people with increased access to safe and secure land in over 40 countries around the world.
http://buildsolidground.bg
https://habitat.org/emea/impact/our-campaigns/build-solid-ground
http://solidgroundcampaign.org

Cities cannot respond to the need for housing. People move there in large numbers to find work, but the population growth rate exceeds the rate of adequate housing. By 2030, three out of every five people in the world are expected to live in cities, and the ghetto population will double, reaching 2 billion.

These issues are the focus of Build Solid Ground, the new global housing and housing rights campaign of Habitat for Humanity International. The advocacy campaign, which goes under the motto that everyone deserves to have a decent home and feel protected from threats to their property, is already working in over 30 countries around the world.
Within Build Solid Ground, Habitat Bulgaria launches a series of meetings in Bulgarian municipalities and universities on the challenges and opportunities of urbanization.

Currently, one in every seven people on the planet lives in unduly built and overcrowded urban areas, with insufficient infrastructure, often without access to electricity, water and sewer.

In 2018-2020, Habitat Bulgaria will visit thirty municipalities across the country. The municipalities planned for 2018 are Smyadovo, Targovishte, Antonovo, Gabrovo, Pavlikeni, Nessebar, Burgas, Dupnitsa, Kyustendil and Sofia. During the meetings in the municipalities, the options for renovation of the poor neighborhoods will be considered – namely, improving living conditions and providing access to basic sanitation.

The need to improve land rights will also be discussed. Globally, 75% of people in the world do not have adequate documentation of the land on which they live and millions live in constant fear of eviction, unwilling to leave their homes where they have sometimes lived for a lifetime. Habitat for Humanity experts are adamant that with secured property or use rights, people live without fear of eviction and invest more in their families, communities and the future.
At the same time, the university meetings will seek to provoke students’ interest in urbanization, as well as to explore their proposals for innovative solutions to problems, the focus of the campaign.

“Urbanization poses a huge challenge to sustainability in terms of housing, but if it is well planned, it can serve as a powerful tool for sustainable global development”, says Mincho Benov – National Director of Habitat Bulgaria.

For context
Countries around the world are increasingly driven by the desire to revive the global commitment to sustainable urbanization:
● UN Sustainable Development Goals adopted in New York in September 2015 include SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities.
● The New Urban Agenda was adopted in October 2016 in Quito, Ecuador, at the United Nations Third Global Conference on Housing Policies and Sustainable Urban Development Habitat III.
● The Urban Agenda for the EU was adopted during the Dutch EU Presidency on 30 May 2016 with the Amsterdam Pact.

About Solid Ground:
Habitat for Humanity launched Solid Ground, a global advocacy campaign to improve access to land for shelter. The four-year campaign, which committed to influencing land policies and systems, resulted in more than 3 million people with increased access to safe and secure land in over 40 countries around the world.
http://buildsolidground.bg
https://habitat.org/emea/impact/our-campaigns/build-solid-ground
http://solidgroundcampaign.org

Sofia, 28 – 29 May 2018
People move to large cities to find work, with population growth exceeding the rate at which cities can respond to the need for housing. Currently, one in every seven people on the planet lives in unduly built and overcrowded urban areas, with insufficient infrastructure, often without access to electricity, water and sewage. By 2030, the population in the world’s poorest neighbourhoods is expected to double, reaching 2 billion people.

These were part of the findings during the first day of the International Conference “Sustainable Cities: New Challenges and Opportunities for Municipalities”, organized by the Bulgarian national organization of the global organization Habitat for Humanity International and held under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria.

Welcome address by the President of the Republic of Bulgaria – Mr. Rumen Radev: “Meetings like today look for the right solutions. They show that local authorities are not alone. Representatives from different institutions, academia, professional and civil communities, from different parts of the world, are involved in their efforts.”

The conference, which continues tomorrow, looks at the sustainable development of modern cities in the context of growing urbanization, climate change and housing problems in contemporary urban areas and the actions of municipalities to address them. The forum is part of Build Solid Ground, Habitat for Humanity’s global advocacy campaign for access to housing and housing rights, operating in more than 30 countries around the world. http://solidgroundcampaign.org

The conference participants, including over 120 local and international top-level experts, agreed on the thesis that every person deserves to have a decent home and feel protected from threats to their property. Attendees discussed that urbanization poses a huge challenge to housing sustainability, but that if well planned, it can serve as a powerful tool for sustainable global development. The solution, supported by the experts in attendance, was the renovation of poor neighborhoods – namely, the need to improve living conditions in informal settlements around the world, to provide access to basic sanitation, and to decent housing in the long term.

Experts also commented on the need to improve land rights worldwide – a significant problem in the context of urbanization is that 75% of people in the world do not have adequate documentation of the land they live in and millions live in constant fear of eviction, unwilling to leave the homes they used to live in for a lifetime. It was shared that with secured property or right of use, people live without fear of eviction and invest more in their families, communities and the future. “By 2030, three out of every five people will live in cities. Urbanization is one of the most transformative trends of the century and can be a source of both challenges and solutions,” said Mincho Benov – National Director of Habitat Bulgaria.

Climate change and the need to improve housing energy efficiency were discussed during the first day of the conference, including through the implementation of energy poverty reduction practices at the municipal level, as well as those contributing to climate change mitigation. The conference continues on May 29 at the Hilton Hotel in Sofia and is open to media representatives. Some of the topics that will be discussed during the second day include innovative approaches to territorial planning; as well as funding opportunities for urban challenges and urban innovation. (Program of the event)

About the Conference
The International Conference “Sustainable Cities: New Challenges and Opportunities for Municipalities” is under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria and is supported by the Embassy of the Netherlands in Bulgaria, the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria, Municipal Energy Efficiency Network EcoEnergy, National Coalition Decent Home, institutions, municipalities and NGOs. The Forum is implemented within the framework of the “Build Solid Ground” project, approved and funded by the Development Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO) under the Development Education and Awareness Raising (DEAR) strand.

For context
Countries around the world are increasingly driven by the desire to revive the global commitment to sustainable urbanization:
● UN Sustainable Development Goals adopted in New York in September 2015 include SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities.
● The New Urban Agenda was adopted in October 2016 in Quito, Ecuador, at the United Nations Third Global Conference on Housing Policies and Sustainable Urban Development Habitat III.
● The Urban Agenda for the EU was adopted during the Dutch EU Presidency on 30 May 2016 with the Amsterdam Pact.

About Solid Ground:
Habitat for Humanity launched Solid Ground, a global advocacy campaign to improve access to land for shelter. The four-year campaign, which committed to influencing land policies and systems, resulted in more than 3 million people with increased access to safe and secure land in over 40 countries around the world.
http://buildsolidground.bg
https://habitat.org/emea/impact/our-campaigns/build-solid-ground
http://solidgroundcampaign.org

Hundreds of thousands of people in Bulgaria today live in conditions far below the minimum standards for housing. Nearly 395,000 people live with three or more other people in a room, in difficult conditions, often in poorly constructed, hand-built houses. Poor housing conditions lead to social and economic isolation of residents. The state and municipalities must devote resources to addressing these problems, and there is an urgent need to take a package of measures to guarantee the right to a decent life for these people.

These are part of the findings of Habitat Bulgaria, a participant in Habitat for Humanity ‘s global Solid Ground, advocacy campaign, on access to housing and housing rights. As part of the campaign, the organization today came up with a proposal for a package of government measures aimed at improving housing conditions in the country, in line with the UN’s New Agenda entitled Transforming Our World: Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, adopted by 193 countries, incl. and Bulgaria on September 25, 2015, at the UN General Assembly.

The Solid Ground project is in line with the eleventh Global Sustainable Development Goal – SDG 11 “Transforming Cities and Towns into Inclusive, Safe, Stable and Sustainable Centers”, and in particular the first of its 10 specific goals: “By 2030, to ensure that everyone has access to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and renovation of poor neighborhoods.”

The Bulgarian office of the global organization Habitat for Humanity has announced measures to improve the country’s living conditions in accordance with the new UN Global Sustainable Development Goals:

● In the State Budget Act:

Tens of thousands of people in Bulgaria live in extremely poor technical and hygienic homes, without running water and sanitary facilities, with poor street network and infrastructure. Poor housing conditions cause serious problems for people in other areas of life, such as education, employment and healthcare. There are hundreds of thousands of people in need of social housing in Bulgaria. At the same time, the implementation of the housing improvement measures in the Action Plan of the National Strategy of the Republic of Bulgaria for Roma Integration (2012-2020) is not tied to financial resources, except for the funds provided under Operational Program “Regions for Growth” 2014-2020 to build only about 500 social housing units across the country.

Habitat Bulgaria proposes in the State Budget Law of the Republic of Bulgaria for 2018 to earmark funds for the implementation of different packages of measures from the Action Plan to the National Strategy of the Republic of Bulgaria for Roma Integration, priority Housing Conditions.

● In the Municipal Property Act:

Access to social housing is not regulated by Bulgarian law and there are no responsibilities assigned to the state or municipalities. The latter have neither the legal obligation nor the resources to respond to the need for social housing. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the right to social assistance and housing assistance, designed to ensure the decent living of all in need, is recognized and respected.

Habitat Bulgaria proposes to introduce in the Municipal Property Act two categories: “acute/ urgent housing need”, as well as “social housing” to enable the right of access to housing at the local level.

● In the Rules for Implementation of the Social Assistance Act:

Very often, families in need of housing cannot overcome the bureaucratic barriers and many are not registered at all in the municipal filings. On the other hand, the process of legal housing construction is too complex and time-consuming, even for homes up to 50 square meters.

Habitat Bulgaria proposes that in the Rules for Implementation of the Law on Social Assistance, social services should be supplemented with a new service – housing mediator/ assistant. The role of the housing mediator is to advise and support families in the process of issuing a certificate for tolerable construction; design, approval and construction of legal housing; applying for accommodation in municipal housing; improving the safety of homes or addressing other ongoing environmental problems.

“In order to achieve the European Union’s 2020 policy goals – Economic Stability, Combating Climate Change and Social Inclusion, as well as the objectives of the Republic of Bulgaria set out in the National Development Program” Bulgaria 2020, housing should be a priority”, said Mincho Benov, National Director of Habitat Bulgaria.

In order to promote the Solid Ground campaign locally and gain additional support, Habitat Bulgaria invited three contemporary Bulgarian artists to “translate” into the language of art the idea of ​​adequate housing as a basic human right. The campaign is partnered with the global social media platform Fine Acts.

About Solid Ground:
Habitat for Humanity launched Solid Ground, a global advocacy campaign to improve access to land for shelter. The four-year campaign, which committed to influencing land policies and systems, resulted in more than 3 million people with increased access to safe and secure land in over 40 countries around the world.
http://solidgroundcampaign.org