RESPONSE project meeting
A public lecture was held at the Technical University of Varna on 19 February 2025, organised within the RESPONSE project by the Black Sea NGO Network and the Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection. The main topic of the meeting was “Enhancing the prevention and protection of the marine environment from pollution in case of accidents and disasters”. The event was moderated by Assoc. Prof. Daniela Toneva, Head of the Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection. The event was officially opened by the Rector of the Technical University, Prof. Dr. Dragomir Plamenov, who emphasised the importance of the protection of the marine environment and the active role of the Department in the training of students and participation in research and project activities. The public lecture was attended by 63 students from different faculties of the University, who had the opportunity to learn about the activities of building response frameworks under the existing and new marine pollution challenges in the Black Sea.
Environmental action to mark 31 October
Volunteers from the club “Extremen” at Tourist Society “Rodni Balkani” – Varna, Bulgaria cooperated with Black Sea NGO Network in the awareness campaign for the Black Sea Day 31 October. The club leader Mr Dobri Dobrev and young volunteers support the RESPONSE project team of BSNN in their contacts with local authorities and the officials responsible for responding to accidents and disasters related to Black Sea pollution.
To mark International Black Sea Day, the team cleaned solid waste from a deep, hard-to-reach ravine under a bridge in the Vayalar area, on the outskirts of the city. The volunteers used alpine techniques used in many search and rescue operations. 45 large bags of solid waste were removed. Cleaning up the coast, beaches and especially dry riverbeds, ravines and canals before the rainy season is now a tradition of civic activism to raise public awareness of Black Sea pollution problems.
Тowards zero pollution in European seas
Source to Seas - Zero Pollution 2030 (SOS-ZEROPOL2030) is a project that brings together ten European institutions forming a unique interdisciplinary partnership with expertise in fundamental and applied natural sciences and associated governance concerning marine pollution, as well as in social sciences related to stakeholder engagement and human behaviour. The project has the overall aim to develop a holistic, stakeholder led zero pollution framework over the next four years, ultimately reflecting the EU’s very ambitious policy and legislative efforts governing the environmental protection of our seas with focus on the zero environmental pollution agenda. Black Sea NGO Network is part of the consortium led by University College Cork, Ireland.
Marine contamination occurs as a direct result of human activities on both land and in the marine environment and requires our urgent attention as healthy and clean seas are critical for our survival and well-being. The implementation of processes and measures to reduce marine pollution will have consequences for numerous economic sectors at multiple scales, framing marine pollution as a considerable global socio-economic challenge that requires active collaboration from multiple stakeholders, across a range of geographic areas.
Stakeholder engagement is central to this project and the holistic research approach championed by SOS-ZEROPOL2030, emphasises human behaviour, socioeconomics, and governance; and is underpinned in knowledge about and understanding of current barriers to effective and efficient prevention, reduction, mitigation, and monitoring of marine pollution in European seas. The project is funded by Horizon Europe under the ‘Clean Environment and Zero Pollution’ call and will run from September 2022 to September 2026.
Open air event in Shabla
The Black Sea NGO Network on September 4, 2022 held an information and training event within the project “Raising Public Awareness and Reducing Marine Litter for Protection of the Black Sea Ecosystem” (LitOUTer) in Shabla, on the northern coast, at the colourful event Festival of Kites in the coastal zone. Young people from nearby settlements and their parents received informational materials on the project and participated in promotion of recycling on-the-go, separate waste collection at public places and open-air activities. Marine litter accumulated along the coastline and in the sea is in the focus of the regional project supported by the JOP Black Sea Basin 2014 – 2020 programme. LitOUTer partners from Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania and Turkey have coordinated efforts to support changes in personal habits and public policies so as to curb solid waste pollution and minimize the risks for the health of the Black Sea.
Good practices for marine litter reduction
BSNN in August and September 2022 held a series of trainings in coastal municipalities like Pomorie and Bulgarevo to promote good practices for reducing plastic waste. The practices were designed to help the local tourism, catering and accommodation businesses produce less waste and save money, and suggest ides to the local country residents how to better manage waste in their houses, farmyards and gardens. Discussions revealed the concern of the people for the pollution of the coast and the sea. The participants called for strict control on polluters and suggested both regular cleaning of beaches and coastal areas, imposing of fines and restriction of access to places of big environmental value. The trainings are part of the project “Raising Public Awareness and Reducing Marine Litter for Protection of the Black Sea Ecosystem” (LitOUTer). The project partners from four littoral countries have coordinated efforts to support changes in personal habits and public policies to curb solid waste pollution and minimize the risks for the health of the Black Sea.
Opinion survey on marine litter
The complex transnational problem of marine litter is in the focus of the project “Raising Public Awareness and Reducing Marine Litter for Protection of the Black Sea Ecosystem” (LitOUTer) promoting common awareness-raising and joint actions to reduce river and marine litter among four Black Sea countries. The project has been supported by the Joint Operational Programme Black Sea Basin 2014 – 2020, lead partner is the Karadeniz Technical University, Marine Science Faculty, Trabzon, Turkey. As part of this project the Black Sea NGO Network with participation of all project partners from Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania and Turkey has been conducting an opinion survey among regional stakeholders to assess their knowledge and attitudes to marine litter to help abate pollution of the Black Sea and protect its ecosystem. Please complete the online questionnaire.
The purpose of this questionnaire is: to examine baseline marine litter understanding, attitudes, and behaviours of stakeholders in four Black Sea countries at the beginning of the project, to outline trends and prospects; and to assess the impact of project interventions (information, training, knowledge-based activities, research, networking) to raise the awareness of stakeholders, change their attitudes and involvement in activities for marine litter abatement.
ECSTALE supports civil society development
The project ‘Empowering Civil Society Through a Learning Environment’ (ECSTALE) brings together NGOs from seven countries with the aim to exchange good practices and share experience on social enterpreneruship, fundraising, networking and advocacy. The target group of the project are non-profit organisations, which empower civil society through capacity building, educational programmes and social services. They will be involved through trainings and workshops in the cross-border exchange. BSNN will host the second transnational project meeting in the autumn of 2021 in Varna.
The project is funded by the Erasmus+ Programme under key activity ‘Strategic partnerships for adult education’. It extends over 22 months from 2020 to 2022. ECSTALE is led by HIGGS, Greece, and the other project partners come from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Israel, Italy and Serbia.
