Biodiversity Campaigner
Email: andrey.ralev [at] bankwatch.orgTel.:
I was born in Bulgaria, lived in Venezuela, Spain, Armenia, traveled on 4 continents. I finished my master’s in Environmental Studies in Madrid and I speak English, Spanish, Bulgarian and other Slavic languages. Since 2002, when I got involved in Save the Kresna Gorge campaign, I have been participating in many environmental campaigns – to protect forests and wetlands, coastal habitats and mountains, national parks and NATURA 2000 sites, local communities and indigenous people – and river protection has been one of my greatest passions. Riparian ecosystems are threatened and communities depending on rivers are suffering the consequences all around the world. As a volunteer, expert or project manager I have assisted environmental campaigns with different strategic actions – biodiversity fieldwork, scientific research, creation of alternative reports, financial activism, legal support, lobbying, public participation, direct actions, communication, creation of coalitions. Since 2016 I am totally committed to the values, vision and mission of CEE Bankwatch Network. Most of my work with Bankwatch has been as a biodiversity consultant but I also had very successful collaboration in media projects: for example in Nenskra and Amulsar visuals or We are Svaneti festival.
More from Andrey Ralev
Armenia hosts COP17: Its ‘action for nature’ stops at Amulsar
October 20, 2026 | Read more
Armenia is set to host the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) from 19 to 30 October. Hosting this high-profile environmental summit has drawn scrutiny to the government’s simultaneous backing of the controversial Amulsar gold mine project at home. At COP17, progress towards the targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework will be reviewed for the first time. The summit’s slogan is ‘Taking action for nature’, yet the Amulsar case illustrates how countries and international investors are ‘taking action against nature’.
Albania’s Skavica dam can’t get off the ground – time to finally cancel it!
November 24, 2025 | Read more
The highly damaging hydropower project could hardly have had stronger political support at its inception, with the country’s parliament passing a special law in 2021 to appoint U.S. construction giant Bechtel as the main contractor. But four years later, the project has stagnated, with no environmental permit and no financing.
Following concerns from local people, the Aarhus Centre in Sarajevo and CEE Bankwatch Network have started legal actions on the lack of environmental impact assessment and appropriate assessment for the 132 MW Poklečani wind project in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Hasty decisions by the Federation of BiH authorities and European Investment Bank might end up delaying the project for years.
The Bureau of the Convention recently accepted a new complaint and urged the Albanian authorities to not develop projects which may negatively affect habitats and species.
As the global biodiversity crisis grows ever more urgent, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) environmental policy and practice is proving insufficient to prevent harm to nature, let alone allow its restoration. The Bank’s review of its environmental and social policy in the coming months must provide a proportionate response to the scale of the problem.
