Bulgaria and the Netherlands Unite Efforts in Greening Cities
On 18th October 2019, an international conference "Green Cities for Sustainable Europe” in Sofia presented the latest trends in greening cities – foremost global knowledge and challenges ahead in the years to come. Decision makers, urban planners, nursery stock producers, landscape architects and green influencers shared experience and best practices, ideas for cooperation in greening cities.
2nd edition of the Green City conference with support of the Dutch Embassy in Bulgaria
On 18th October 2019, an international conference "Green Cities for Sustainable Europe” in Sofia presented the latest trends in greening cities – foremost global knowledge and challenges ahead in the years to come. Decision makers, urban planners, nursery stock producers, landscape architects and green influencers shared experience and best practices, ideas for cooperation in greening cities.
Serdika Tulip
Bulgaria and the Netherlands have worked on this theme together for many years and I admire the efforts for greening Sofia and Bulgaria, said Dutch Ambassador Bea ten Tusscher at the official opening of the conference. Addressing the participants, Bulgarian Deputy Minister of Agriculture Chavdar Marinov launched the idea of “planting trees in front of our houses wherever it is possible”. Both – Ambassador and Deputy Minister – showed green fingers at planting the first bulbs of Serdika, a new tulip variety, specially developed as a Netherland’s gift to Bulgaria on the occasion of 110th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Sharing knowledge
Sofia was one of the highlights of the half-day discussions with presentations on flower planting in Sofia; Vision for Sofia - urban agriculture, green spaces and vegetation mapping, ecosystem services and soil, and the green corridor in Sofia Nadezhda District. World’s best practices of greening cities and the international experience – the Netherlands, Poland and China – sparkled discussions and ideas for cooperation in the future. One of the new opportunities will be in 2020, the UN’s World Plant Health Year. Remy Lubbe from the Royal Nursery Association presented the Dutch experience in perennials, at the Netherlands is the world’s largest producers and exporter of perennial plants.
Organized by BAOPN, the Bulgarian Association of Ornamental Plants Nurseries in partnership with the Dutch Embassy in Sofia, the conference is part of the pan-European campaign “Green cities for Sustainable Europe”, which has been launched in 2018. Organizations from seven countries - Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, France, UK and the Netherlands – work together on awareness for making our cities greener and more calourful.