The EU MISIS MSFD Guiding Improvements in the Black Sea Integrated Monitoring System’’ project meeting was held in the Marmara Research Center – Energy Institute between 10 and 12 December 2013. TUBITAK MRC Environment and Cleaner Production Institute is a partner of the Project as sub-contractor.
The Project is financed by the European Commission as an activity under EC DG Env. Programme of ‘’Preparatory Action – Environmental monitoring of the Black Sea Basin and a common European framework programme for the development of the Black Sea region / Black Sea and Mediterranean 2011’’.
The general purpose of the Project is to support efforts to protect and restore the environmental quality and sustainability of the Black Sea. In this context, it is aimed to improve the availability and quality of the chemical and biological data provided for integrated assessments of the Black Sea’s environmental state, including pressures and impact (in line with Annex I and III of the MSFD), to increase the number and size of protected areas in the Black Sea as well as to increase their degree of protection and enhance stakeholders’ participation and public awareness on environmental issues.
The project included a joint survey which was carried out with the cooperation of the project partners with the Institute of Oceanology, Bulgarian Academy of Science between 22 and 31 July 2013. In this study, as envisaged by the MSFD, water column and seafloor habitat, contaminants in sediment and biota, eutrophication and marine litter studies as well as an inter – laboratory comparison exercise were performed.
The MISIS Project meeting (10 – 12 December 2013) was attended by 30 people, majority of which was the Project partners (Project coordinator; National Institute for Marine Research and Development “Grigore Antipa” - Romania, Partners; National Institute of Marine Geology and Geoecology – Romania, Ovidius University of Constanta – Romania, Institute of Oceanology, Bulgarian Academy of Science – Bulgaria, Sinop University Fisheries Faculty - Turkey, TUBİTAK Marmara Research Center –TURKEY) and four invited speakers.
During the meeting the Project partners shared information about their national geographical and ecological classification systems, their approach to the determination of definition and targets for “good environmental status” in relation to eutrophication and contaminants in the context of Marine Strategy Framework Directive.
A list of the participating organizations and the agenda of the meeting are given below:
- TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center Environment and Cleaner Production Institute - Turkey
- National Institute for Marine Research and Development ‘’Grigore Antipa’’ – Romania
- National Institute of Marine Geology and Geoecology-Romania
- Ovidius University of Constanta-Romania
- Institute of Oceanology, Bulgarian Academy of Science – Bulgaria
- Sinop University Fisheries Faculty – Turkey
- İstanbul University Fisheries Faculty – Turkey
- Middle East Technical University, Institute of Marine Sciences – Turkey
- DELTARES (REPRESENTİNG THE European Environmental Agency) – The Netherlands
- Fieldfare International Ecological Development – United Kingdom