At the invitation of the NGO “Green Strandzha” the Via Pontica Foundation took part in an international conference “Presentation of Good Practices for Waste Management and Reduction in the Black Sea Basin”, under the project: “Marine and River Litter Elimination New Approach” BSB – 139, MARLENA. The project is aimed at uniting the forces of various stakeholders against the pollution of coastal areas, rivers, protected areas and nature reserves in the Black Sea basin.
The international conference took place on February 9-10, 2021, online through the ZOOM platform and offered a rich program with international participation of the project partners.
The beginning of the first day was given by the Municipality of Demirkoy, Turkey, which presented good practices in the process of waste management with the establishment of a regional waste management system in the Kirklareli region. He also presented the production processes in the largest integrated biogas plant in Europe, as well as the first closed cycle in the wood sector with the production of zero waste and biomass.
The next panel of the program also included NGO “Green Strandzha” as partners from Bulgaria. They presented a regional waste management system, as well as implemented investment projects for protection of water purity in Burgas district – regional treatment plant “Bratovo-West”, mobile waste centers in Burgas, eco-cleaning actions.
In addition to the best practices and opportunities, revealed by the project for management and use of wetlands, the Ecopark for Biodiversity and Alternative Tourism “Vaya” was presented. The Ecopark, built and maintained by the Via Pontica Foundation, is dedicated to the conservation of natural resources, changing attitudes towards protected areas and awareness of the opportunities, benefits and responsibilities of the biodiversity conservation in Bulgaria.
The first day of the conference ended with the presentation of good practices and waste management from Moldova.
The program continued on the second day with the project partners from Romania. Joint initiatives, campaigns and eco-actions to clean up and reduce waste in the region were shown.
The second representative from Bulgaria within the project was the Municipality of Malko Tarnovo. Their presentation showed a regional waste management system in the Municipality of Malko Tarnovo: introduction of a system for separate waste collection; best practices for maintaining cleanliness in forests and infrastructure in the Strandzha National Park; visit to a photovoltaic park near town of Malko Tarnovo, built on recultivated land; open lesson for conservation of purity and biodiversity in the Strandzha National Park.
The partners from Ukraine, represented by the Institute for Market Problems, Economic and Environmental Research at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, concluded the conference with an interesting film on best practices and cooperation from the Odessa region.
The MARLENA project and the international conference once again united the actions of the community by promoting and presenting the implementation of cross-border campaigns for cleaning of coastal and river waters in the Black Sea basin and shared best practices in this field to reduce and eliminate pollution.
Last Updated on 11 February, 2021
