Bulgaria has agreed to provide water to neighbors Greece for the next five years from the Arda River, to help agriculture in Northern Greece.
This follows a joint declaration signed at the end of last week by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the two countries – Georg Georgiev of Bulgaria and Georgios Gerapetriti of Greece.
Speaking on the agreement “The Joint Declaration guarantees the provision by Bulgaria of a sufficient amount of water for a period of five years, thus ensuring the smooth and continuous functioning of the irrigation system and agricultural production in the Evros border region, after the expiry of the relevant 60-year bilateral agreement between Greece and Bulgaria,” the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
At its last meeting, the Bulgarian Council of Ministers approved the draft of the joint declaration.
Agreement details
At the beginning of July 2024, the agreement between the two countries on Bulgaria’s commitment to supply regulated water from the Arda River expired.
It was signed back in 1964 and provided that Greece directly irrigates over 817,000 hectares in northern Evros and indirectly irrigates 400,000 hectares.
The Arda’s waters are of great importance for the aquatic ecosystem of this part of Greece, where agriculture is impossible without the river’s water resources.
In the summer of 2024, Greece requested and received 80 million cubic metres of water to compensate for reduced water reserves in the Greek parts of the Arda and Mesta rivers.
According to the Bulgarian Government’s press release, The Greek government has declared its intention to begin within a reasonable time the modernization of the existing dam or construction of a new one, thus ensuring the irrigation needs of Greek territory.
Bulgaria declares to provide the service of “accumulation, storage and regulated supply of water volumes” from the Arda River through the Arda cascade system for irrigation of lands on Greek territory until the construction of the dam for 5 years from the signing of the joint declaration. After this period, the two countries will review the declaration.
On the Bulgarian side, three dams have been built on the Arda River, the only system of large dams on a single river in Bulgaria. The total volume of the dams exceeds 1.2 billion cubic metres, making it the largest dam cascade in the country.
The cabinet press release also states that Greece will reimburse the relevant costs for the service of “accumulation, storage and regulated supply of water volumes” from the Arda River provided by the Bulgarian side, but does not specify the amount.
About the Arda River
The Arda river is 272 km long, of which 241 km are on Bulgarian territory. It holds the third place in terms of full-flow in Bulgaria.
On Greek territory, the river flows through vast arable lands, which makes it key for agriculture and biodiversity in the region.
