Burgas Municipality is Bulgaria’s fourth largest city, with nearly 196,000 inhabitants, located at the Black Sea coast (BG Statistical Office, 2024). It serves as the economic and administrative center of the wider Burgas District.
In recent years, Burgas has become a tourist destination, especially for coastal and beach tourism, while the wider district is also known for its natural and cultural heritages. In 2023, the district ranked first in Bulgaria regarding their accommodation capacity and the number of overnight stays relative to the population (Regional Profiles 2024, Burgas). At the same time, Burgas is still an industrial city, home to both Bulgaria’s largest Black Sea port and its largest oil refinery (Plan for Urban Resilience, Burgas; Burgas District Administration).
Despite the city’s growing attractiveness (EIB, 2019), it is also increasingly affected by the impacts of climate change. In Burgas Municipality, average annual temperatures are projected to rise by 3.6°C compared to the 1961-1990 period, accompanied by more frequent and prolonged heatwaves. Precipitation is expected to decline by 10-20%, increasing the likelihood of drought and water scarcity. Simultaneously, also the frequency of short, intense rainfall events is rising with more risks of flooding and landslides (Roadmap for Re-Value, Burgas). These climate challenges impact the population’s well-being and threaten infrastructure, properties, and the region’s natural and cultural heritage, potentially leading to economic, environmental, and welfare losses.
To adapt to these challenges, Burgas is engaged in several projects focused on increasing urban resilience, including plans for the waterfront development and efforts to address the urban heat island effect.
However, most adaptation projects target the city of Burgas, although peri-urban and rural populations, many of whom rely on agriculture – a sector highly vulnerable to climate change – encounter similar risks. TiCCA4Danu project addresses this gap by focusing on the “city-region”, aimed at transformative innovation for climate change adaptation across the broader Burgas District. Enhancing cross-border cooperation is also part of the project. The Turkish municipality of Uzunköprü, which faces similar climate-related risks such as flooding and wildfires in the cross-border Strandzha Mountains, will participate as an active partner in the project.
