Project title: Cooperation and Awareness for Pollution-free and Environmentally Sustainable Black Sea

Project total Budget: 845,308.56  EURO
Interreg Next Fund: 760,777.69  EURO

Project duration: 24 month - 18/07/2024-18/07/2026

Project overall objective
The overall objective of the project is enhancing protection and preservation of nature and biodiversity by raising awareness on different types of pollution among communities and providing practical means of action towards a greener and cleaner Black Sea region during a 24-month period.

Study area:
Georgia: riv. Chorokhi valley and mouth with freshwater ponds and wetlands habitat
Moldova: Aquatic ecosystems of the "Lower Prut" Biosphere Reserve and RAMSAR wetlands (the Prut river, lakes).
Turkey. Riv Chorokhi Turkish area including the brooks (such as Çağlayan and Arılı).

Greece: NATURA 2000 coastal areas of the Region of Central Macedonia

Romania: Natural Parks (RAMSAR wetlands of Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve and Lower Danube). A comparison of data obtained in the Romanian – Moldovan border area will be performed within

Project Results
Result 1
Organizations cooperating across borders after project completion The implementation of the management and action plans for the Choroki River Georgian - Turkish border will require further cooperation between LP1 and PP3 - KTU. In the meantime, PP2 - USPEE and PP5 - DDNI will cooperate for implementation of common solutions on the Romanian - Moldovan border after the end of the project.

Result 2
The primary solution derived from the project is the development and dissemination of a simulation model. This model, designed to simulate the transport, advection, dispersion, and weathering of small plastic particles in water bodies, will be accessible online. By making the simulation model available on the internet, it provides an opportunity for stakeholders from various countries to access and utilize it effectively. This approach ensures the widespread uptake and scaling of the solution by organizations, facilitating collaborative efforts to address plastic pollution in water environments.

Lasting effect
All project outputs will be available for all interested stakeholders without any limitations. The management and action plans as well as the set of wetland ecosystem health measures will be presented to local / regional and even national authorities as there is an obligation of the States to contribute the Black Sea Integrated Management Plan. The numerical model designed by PP4 - AUTH and tested in the partners areas can be used in any other Black Sea surounding area. The revised curricula will definitely have an impact of the higher education of young people which are trained for environment protection related careers by the partner universities. And definitely, the open science resources generated by the project are aimed at educationg and properly informing the general public not only on threats posed by pollution but also on practical maesures that can be taken to reduce the negative impact and dimish the stress upon ecosytems in the project area.

Activities
Development of common instruments and methodology for smart environmental observation
State of art of plastic pollution in study areas of the BSB ecosystem, analysis of the challenges and measures to reduce it
Exchange of experience / cross-border monitoring and assessment
Development of recommendations for the ecological rehabilitation of the studied ecosystems
Advancing public engagement with science and environmental knowledge production
Valorization and dissemination of the collected data

Output
Partners from five Black Sea region countries to implement the project
Cross - border (Georgian and Turkish) management plans and action plans for the Choroki river corresponding areas
International Conference
Development and implementation of common methodology, instruments, and tools

Output
Target group
Interest groups including NGOs, Local public authority, Regional public authority, Higher education and research organisations, Business support organization, General public, SME, National public authority