Overview
Funding:
Bulgaria-Serbia IPA Cross-border Programme
Timeframe:
22/01/2013 – 21/01/2014
Budget:
118 107 Euro
Contractors:
BSERC, Bulgaria (Lead partner); University of Nis, Serbia
Description
The overall project objective was to increase the cohesion and integration in the Bulgaria-Serbia cross-border region by promoting sustainable use of locally available forest and agriculture biomass as a resource for renewable energy production, based on exchange of know-how, best practices and wider stakeholders involvement.
The main specific objectives were:
- to raise the awareness of forest owners, farmers, distributors of fuelwood and owners of sawmills, as well as of the decision-makers in local and regional forestry directorates and authorities about the urgent need to improve the bioenergy chain to avoid the present environment, social, and economic costs;
- to promote state-of-the-art technologies for efficient biomass planting and sustainable biomass harvesting, in order to mitigate the environmental impacts resulting from the current practices;
- to promote more sustainable (i.e. efficient) biomass-to-energy conversion technologies, in order to reduce the labor intensity and the fuel cost;
- to propose efficient and cost saving options for substituting fossil fuels with biomass derived biofuels;
- to intensify transfer of project partners’ knowledge and experience towards targeted groups ensuring sustainability of the action;
- to assist local authorities and market actors in preparing the foundation for attracting biomass energy investments.
Results
- Development of biomass potentials and investments studies
- GIS maps
- Training of local authorities and market actors
- Development of strategies for biomass utilization ,etc.