1.2. Improving the capacity for nature protection, sustainable use and management of common natural resources through cooperation initiatives in the cross-border area

The project aims at contributing to the effectiveness of the measures taken by authorities to address the issue of marine litter, as common challenge in the environmental protection of the Black and Aegean Seas.
The activities planned within the project include investment works for waste cleaning of Vaya Lake flowing in Black sea and elimination of the landfill in the area of channel. Initial activities for development of separate waste management in Enez will be introduced also. A number of campaigns aiming at cleaning up marine litter and increasing public involvement in the problems of protecting the sea from pollution and improving the environment are envisaged.
Within the project a collection of good practices for waste management of wetlands and marine litter prevention, separate waste collection systems in European Union and Bulgaria, legislation and application of legislation will be presented.
The implementation of the project will identify the sources of marine litter in cross border areas and good waste management models will be transferred to good practice for better waste management and will decrease the urban pollution in wetlands in Black and Aegean seas.

Project status: Finished

Through project activities, the sources of pollution in the wetlands were identified, a landfill in the area of the Lake Vaya canal was eliminated and separate waste management containers were installed in Enez, which contributed to reducing urban pollution in the wetlands. In Burgas, an exchange of experience was organized between the partners for better waste management, nature protection and integration into society and business. Public awareness on the prevention of marine litter and the problems of protecting the seas from pollution has been increased through: A children's competition "What do you know about waste?" And an art exhibition with objects made by the children during the trainings were held in Enez; A pilot system for separate waste collection in Enez and the Green Telephone System was introduced and promoted. Project partners organized wetland cleaning campaigns at the cross-border region of both countries.

The overall objective of the project is developing a monitoring network to observe bark beetle population dynamics in artificially propagated coniferous forests in the regions of Burgas and Kirklareli through conducting specialized research and detect bark beetle infestation in artificially propagated coniferous plants.
The main activities of the project include the organization of a three-day seminar on "Measures and activities to improve coniferous forests in the cross-border region" in Kirklareli. The seminar will evaluate and identify the most important strengths and weaknesses of both countries in terms of management of coniferous forests, insect pests and disease prevention, as well as the impact of climate factors on the rate of disease, abiotic diseases and damage by abiotic factors.
Within the project, in Sozopol, a seminar ''Application of preventive and integrated methods to coniferous plants for the purpose of improving their condition’’ will be held. The seminar will be attended by scientists, forest experts, representatives of local authorities from Bulgaria and Turkey.
The implementation of the project will contribute to the improvement of the management of common natural resources and the maintenance of forest ecosystem health and vitality in the Black Sea coast and Strandzha Mountains region.

Project status: completed

Forest Health is a project to build a monitoring network to monitor the dynamics of the bark beetle population in the artificial creation of coniferous crops with overall sustainable forest management and use in climate change conditions. for long-term study of coniferous forests, which are part of the forest ecosystems in the Black Sea coast and Strandzha Mountain. Specialists were trained to use slit trap-type pheromone traps with wet catch to establish the distribution and flight dynamics of bark beetles and reported data. performing specialized research. The target groups exchanged good practices in the application of preventive and integrated methods in coniferous plantations in order to improve their condition.