On 1 January 2025, Ukraine took over the coordination of the Common Maritime Agenda (CMA) for the Black Sea, following Moldova’s CMA coordinating role in 2024. Ukraine aims to build on Moldova’s success by addressing the CMA goals and priorities in the Black Sea region.   

Strategic Priorities for 2025

Ukraine’s leadership will focus on enhancing awareness of the Black Sea CMA and broadening its engagement with stakeholders in the Black Sea region and blue economy. A key priority focuses on the exchange of best practices, particularly on the need  for joint environmental monitoring, including the impact of the current war (e.g. sea mines and pollution) on the sea basin , which is a shared concern for Black Sea countries. Other key objectives include discussing the latest advancements in green ports, innovative transportation systems, and modern maritime infrastructure.

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The CMA Steering Group has launched a new Technical Group to address challenges, opportunities and cooperation in Black Sea coastal and maritime tourism. Key objectives include evaluating priorities in sustainable tourism, consolidating knowledge of the Black Sea underwater cultural heritage and developing collaborative projects. 

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The main outcomes of the Black Sea CMA Stakeholder Conference are published. The conference, hosted by the Moldovan chairmanship of the CMA in Chisinau, on 11 September 2024, attracted over 200 stakeholders from all over the region and beyond to exchange and discuss joint action on a sustainable blue economy in the Black Sea.

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The Black Sea CMA Implementation report is now available, detailing the progress made by Black Sea stakeholders, supported by the European Commission and the Black Sea Assistance Mechanism (BSAM), under the CMA for the Black Sea (CMA) in the past two years (2023 and 2024). It highlights achievements, events, communications, lessons learned, and future priorities, focusing on economic development, ecosystem protection, and regional cooperation.

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The summary paper compiles the main outcomes of three co-creation workshop sessions organised during the Black Sea CMA Stakeholder Conference on 11th of September 2024. This informative document aims to provide expert insights into existing and emerging trends in the sea basin, identify key research priorities and funding needs, and suggest new courses of action to EU, national, and regional policymakers.

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You can find the whole newsletter by following the link. 

Kicking off the new year on a high note, we present you the 4th REST-COAST newsletter. In the current edition, you will find information on our most recent achievements, along with plans for the upcoming months, all contributing to the advancement of coastal restoration across the project's nine Pilot Sites.

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The Commission will host a week-long event to address the pressing issues facing the world's ocean. From 3 to 7 March 2025, the European Ocean Days will bring together experts, policymakers, and stakeholders from various fields to discuss sustainable blue economy, fisheries science, and innovative solutions to ocean-related challenges.

Read more: https://oceans-and-fisheries.ec.europa.eu/news/register-european-ocean-days-march-2025-2025-01-13_en?pk_source=ec_newsroom&pk_medium=email&pk_campaign=MARE+Newsletter

The H2020 co-funded project REST-COAST – Large scale RESToration of COASTal ecosystems through rivers to sea connectivity will provide the tools to address some of the key challenges to coastal ecosystems today, all consequences of a long history of environmental degradation of rivers and coasts. As part of the project’s inclusive approach, nine Pilot Sites have been selected as focus areas, representing coastal vulnerability hotspots across the main EU sea-basins, i.e. the Baltic Sea, the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Black Sea.

The new booklet “The Route to Coastal Restoration: From the REST-COAST project to the Black Sea region” builds on the results of the project to propose knowledge transfer pathways as a preliminary tool to better support coastal restoration in the Black Sea basin.

Following the COLUMBUS project methodology, the analysis identified twenty-four existing and forthcoming REST-COAST knowledge outputs that contribute to six Knowledge Transfer Pathways with the aim to address the needs of the Black Sea coastal ecosystems, in the following areas:

• Governance and Policy Frameworks;
• Financing and Funding;
• Environmental Impact Assessments;
• Data Access and Sharing;
• Public Awareness and Engagement;
• Multistakeholder Collaboration and Knowledge Exchange.

The booklet was prepared by the International Centre for Black Sea Studies (ICBSS) in cooperation with the Permanent International Secretariat of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC PERMIS) and the Catalonia University of Technology UPC BarcelonaTech, and was published by the BSEC PERMIS.

It was first presented at the international scientific workshop “Bridging Gaps in Coastal Restoration. Synergies and Knowledge Transfer from REST-COAST project to the Black Sea region”, successfully organised by the Permanent International Secretariat of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC PERMIS), in the framework of the REST-COAST project, in Thessaloniki, Greece, on 8-10 October 2024.

The full booklet is available HERE.

More information about the REST-COAST project HERE

POLICY COORDINATION

Consider utilising the opportunity the EU National Restoration Plans present to align processes across policy domains and governance levels (local, regional, national, union-wide), to promote local collaboration among stakeholders, and to ensure a common understanding of priorities and clear responsibilities at each governance level. 

CONNECTIVITY 

Consider restoration interventions that enhance the connectivity between terrestrial, freshwater, and marine habitats and the natural dynamics between these ecosystems. This will also provide co-benefits, such as increased coastal resilience, blue carbon and socioeconomic benefits. The EU Nature Restoration Law can also promote harmonised metrics to measure biodiversity and ecosystem services for restoration measures. 

INTEGRATION AND ADAPTATION

Consider developing adaptation pathways to align biodiversity restoration with climate change action (mitigation & adaptation), supporting long–term restoration efforts and preventing ecosystem deterioration. This could be done by integrating future climate scenarios and changing socio-economic conditions into the planning of coastal restoration activities and future National Restoration Plans. Research done by REST-COAST can provide valuable context-specific information to do so.

STAKEHOLDERS ENGAGEMENT

Consider leveraging existing pathways to enhance stakeholder engagement and strengthen the scientific foundation for the National Restoration Plans. Platforms such as the REST-COAST Coastal Restoration Platforms (CORE-Plats) can be used to engage stakeholders, demonstrate restoration benefits, and attract funding. 

FINANCING 

Consider exploring innovative financial solutions and business opportunities to sustain and advance coastal restoration efforts, such as co-financing options and long-term investment pathways. It can help to identify ecosystem services with significant economic value to find funding for coastal restoration initiatives.

Please check the attached file for further details.

Dear Black Sea friends,

In order to upskill and ensure the understanding of the challenges and opportunities to be addressed for a sustainable Blue Economy across the Black Sea, the EU H2020-funded BRIDGE-BS R&I project conducts a range of educational and capacity-building activities.

With this aim, the 2nd Summer School is organized by the BRIDGE-BS project by targeting graduate students from Black Sea riparian countries (Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Moldova, Türkiye, and Ukraine) and will be hosted by one of the facilities of the Tbilisi State University (TSU) on 15-17 September 2024.

The 2nd Summer School will mainly focus on supporting tools for strengthening the Sustainable Blue Economy in the Black Sea region.

The lectures will address fundamental topics related to Blue Biotechnology.

The Summer School will involve interactive lectures and group work.

On the last day, a hackathon will take place where participants will work in a small team setting to develop a viable solution to boost the sustainable development of the Blue Economy with a particular focus on the emerging sector of biotechnologies.

Date: 15-16-17 September 2024 (14 September, Arrival Day)
Location: Tbilisi State University in Tbilisi, Georgia

Fees, Costs, and Visa

All selected participants will attend the summer school free of charge and in person.

Selected participants’ accommodation (up to 4 nights, depending on the flight schedule) in shared dormitories: 2 people of the same gender; Istanbul University will cover lunches and some dinners.

Subsistence costs in Tbilisi for the duration of the training, are borne by the participants.

All participants are responsible for complying with the entry requirements to Georgia. Participants who need to have a visa should organize their visa procedure and cover the costs of granting it. İstanbul University and BRIDGE-BS Project support the accepted candidates with an invitation letter. İstanbul University will organize accommodation and travel arrangements for the selected students.

Requirements

Only graduate students of any discipline related to the Blue Economy (economy, research, and/or policy) will be considered;

Candidates should be graduate students from Black Sea riparian countries (Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Moldova, Türkiye and Ukraine);

Candidates should have a good working knowledge of English (level B2 or higher)