The National Trust EcoFund (NTEF) was established in October 1995. The Fund manages assets from the state budget, including under the Debt-for-Environment and the Debt-for-Nature swaps.
Funds are also generated via the Assigned Amount Units (AAUs) international trade deal(s), the sale of greenhouse gas emissions quotas for aviation activities, as well as funds, provided by other environmental protection agreements between the Republic of Bulgaria and international or local financing sources.
NTEF functioning is based upon the following legal documents
- Environmental Protection Act - (July 1995, amended September 2002 and September 2010)
- Ordinance on the structure and the activities of the National trust Eco Fund (approved by the Council of Ministers Decree No 96/10.05.2004, amended September 2010 and September 2014)
- Rules of procedure of the National Trust Eco Fund (approved by the Board of Directors and the Advisory Committee on 30 October 2014
- Law to curb climate change
Our Role and Functions
Selects and approves the projects to receive funding
Endorses the contracts with the beneficiaries upon project approval
Monitors the projects implementation
NTEF activities were reviewed twice by independent evaluators
Structure
Three main bodies are managing the activities of the National Trust EcoFund.
The Board of Directors
The Management Board (MB), in association with the Advisory Committee (AC), determines the Fund’s strategy and policies, as well as project selection criteria. It is the governing body that takes the final decisions about awarding financial support to particular projects, already recommended by the Executive Bureau (EB). The MB submits annual reports on the Fund’s activities to the Council of Ministers through the Ministry of Environment and Water (MoEW). The MB consists of seven members: Chair, two Deputy Chairs, and four standing members. The Council of Ministers appoints the Chair for a five-year term after consultation with the AC. One of the Deputy Chairs is a Deputy Minister of Environment and Water . The other voting members of the MB are the deputy ministers of the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economy and Energy, as well as representatives of the Bulgarian Academy of Science, the National Association of the Municipalities of the Republic of Bulgaria, and the environmental NGOs.
The Advisory Committee
The Advisory Committee (AC) consists of representatives of foreign governmental and non-governmental institutions, providing financial or other support to the Fund’s activities. The members of the AC may review, evaluate, and provide written opinions on projects, proposed for financing by the Fund, and have the right to participate in meetings of the BD. They have a veto power over decisions to finance projects with funding provided by them.
The Executive Bureau
The Executive Bureau (EB) of the Fund is responsible for the diligent conduct of daily operations. Of major responsibility is the implementation of all aspects of the project-cycle management processes, including: marketing the Fund’s priorities and requirements; interaction with prospective and actual applicants; solicitation, admission and appraisal of project-applications, applying for financial support from the Fund; signing of contracts with successful applicants; monitoring and evaluation of implemented projects. The EB organizes and contributes to the organization of BD’s meetings, and is responsible for executing decisions of the BD and the AC. The EB also prepares annual budgets for the Fund, reports on a regular basis to the BD on the Fund’s finances and often represents the Fund to third parties. The EB is headed by a Director and consists of three divisions: Financial and Economic Division, Technical Division (projects), and Office Management and Coordination Division.
