Troyan-Apriltsi-Ugаrchin (TAU) - Bulgaria

Key Facts

The Pilot Region of Troyan-Apriltsi-Ugаrchin (TAU) is situated in Bulgaria, in the “heart of the Balkan“, e.g. in the mid-northern side of the longest mountain crossing the Balkan Peninsula. The TAU region covers the territories of three neighbouring municipalities – Troyan, Apriltsi and Ugarchin with a total area of 1650.2 km² and 33717 inhabitants. TAU is located about 150 km northeast of the capital Sofia and the main route linking the capital with the Black Sea crosses its territory. Legally all three municipalities are classified as a rural area (except the territory of the town of Troyan) and each one had only one settlement with the status of a town and an administrative centre – a municipality. The three municipalities face a common challenge – depopulation.

Troyan is the largest municipality in the territory (888.84 km² and 25589 inhabitants), where 72% of the population live in the eponymous town. Troyan was declared a town about 150 years ago because of the development of the craft industry. Its industrialisation began at the beginning of XX century and strongly developed during the communist regime. During the post-communist transition, Troyan only partially de-industrialised, and has since being in the process of reindustrialisation linked to the expansion of global value chains (pharmaceuticals, textile, international transportation, wood processing and furniture). Service sector is mainly related to transportation and administrative services, tourism and gambling. In the recent years the area has attracted companies form the ICT sector and there is almost no unemployment. In the last 20 years (2000-2020) the municipality has lost 25% of its population. The area of Troyan is rich in natural and cultural heritage. The largest biosphere reserve in Bulgaria, protected by UNESCO, falls on the territory of the municipality of Troyan. SPA and recreational tourism also flourishes with more than 20 registered mineral water springs. Traditional local food (dairy and meat products, fruits and berries, brandy, herbs) is appreciated for its quality and authenticity. So are its crafts (ceramics, metal, leather) which are currently well preserved in around 250 workshops.
Apriltsi is the second municipality in the Pilot Region territory (238.26 km², 2741 inhabitants). The main settlement bearing the same name as the municipality was declared a town by the Communist regime in the mid-1970s as a measure for population retention. Located at the foot of the highest peak of the Balkan mountain, Apriltsi is mainly sustained by tourism, a few industrial SMEs and livestock farming. Over the last 20 years, Apriltsi has lost over 30% of its population. 90 % of the population currently lives in the town, thus villages on the territory are almost depopulated. Apriltsi offers good social services for the elderly and is making efforts to preserve its intangible cultural heritage (dance and singing groups), and pastoralism in High Nature Value territories.
Ugarchin is the third municipality in the area and its greatest asset is the land (523.1 km²) and forestry stock. In the last 20 years the municipality has lost 45% of its population (5387 inhabitants). Ugarchin has developed mainly through agricultural, forestry and wood-processing activities and like Apriltsi was also transformed from village into town by the Communist regime. Unlike Troyan and Apriltsi, the population of Ugarchin is ethnically segregated, as many Romа people live in the territory. Ugarchin is the only one of the three municipalities where fewer people live in the town (42%) than in the surrounding villages.

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Living Lab transitions

Socio-economy

Although at different rates, the three municipalities in the TAU are depopulating because of negative natural growth and migration processes. The three municipalities are struggling in different ways to cope with this problem. For example, in Troyan, more diverse jobs are available but mostly in the industry sector. Apriltsi largely follows the path of Troyan, while in Ugarchin the situation is more complicated because the jobs are few, mostly in agriculture and forestry, low-skilled and generally more suitable for men than for women. In addition, segregation processes push the Roma population into lower-skilled, precarious and seasonal jobs, generating unemployment and poverty in this municipality. The development of re-industrialisation, agriculture and food and tourism are the main instruments to address depopulation in the TAU area.

Climate change & environment

The area needs to achieve decarbonisation and secure access to cleaner water and air for its population. For this purpose:

renewable energy sources were built and their number is increasing;
communal vegetable and orchard for high quality food were developed by the municipality of Troyan to provide daily fresh vegetables and fruits for all children and community kitchen;

a new composting and separated waste treatment municipal plant (a joint project between Troyan and Apriltsi) is established to turn waste into raw material in line with circular economy principles.

Digitalisation

The broadband speed has significantly increased between 2020 and 2023 in the area. The broadband fixed network speed in Troyan is 33.79 mbps, in Apriltsi – 29.41 mbps and in Ugarchin – 49.99 mbps. The broadband mobile network speed is even more impressive (in comparison) – 116.06 mbps in Troyan, 61.04 mbps in Apriltsi and 48.25 mbps in Ugarchin. But these numbers demonstrate that the digital transition in the Pilot region, (if hindered) is not impeded by lacking accessibility and household access seems to be easily achievable. Despite the high quality and speed of the broadband in Bulgaria, the country has been significantly lagging behind the EU average in terms of levels of digital skills, on the proportion of ICT specialists, adoption of digital technologies by SMEs, and the digitalization of public services. The trend on a national basis point to a slight disparity between the share of households with access to the internet in the towns and cities, in comparison to the same indicator in villages. The abovementioned differences could stem from the general demographic trends in the country and in the Pilot region. Younger and economically more active citizens tend to live in towns and cities, whereas the Bulgarian villages usually home an elderly population with fewer digital needs and literacy. However, with the recent trend of digital nomades to work remotely and live in smaller, less polluted and less crowded settlements and villages, this digital situation is rather challenged as the requirements are rising.

Yet, the area needs to find a better balance between the increasing number of aging population and the use of public and private digital services.