In November 2022, the first Multi-Actor Forums in Bulgaria and Turkey were organized under the H2020 DOORS project “Developing Optimal and Open Research Support” for the Black Sea.
The focus of this workshop was to map the blue economy local needs in the Black Sea and identify the gaps. During the workshop, the participants were introduced to the DOORS project, its objectives as well as those of the MAF. The MAFs seeked to engage in a mapping of the national context of their blue economy systems and in a facilitated discussion to review and prioritize these needs in the context of blue economy development using the pentagonal tool.
- The workshop in Turkey took place on 9th of November 2022 in Osman Turan hall Karadeniz Technical University, and was delivered by Karadeniz Technical University. Learn more here
- The Bulgarian workshop took place on 18th of November 2022 in the Conference Centre 2 of Burgas Free University, was delivered by Burgas Free University. Learn more here
Both workshops were supported by ATHENA RC team, which is leading the work on the MAFs within the project. Another two MAFs in Romania and Georgia during the first quarter of 2023.
DOORS is a new €9m EU research project linking science, policy and industry for critical Black Sea regeneration, coordinated by GeoEcoMar (Romania). We bring together expertise and technology from 35 institutions from the Black Sea region and other European countries to address the human and climate change impacts on damaged ecosystems. ATHENA Research and Innovation Centre, Sustainable Development Unit is participating in the DOORS H2020 project. Principal Investigator (PI) is Prof. Koundouri and members of the team are: Dr Akinsete and Lydia Papadaki. The Black Sea is widely considered as the world’s most polluted sea. It holds double the level of marine litter found in the Mediterranean and suffers from extensive eutrophication – high levels of phosphorus, nitrogen, and other plant nutrients. The poor water quality has had a serious impact on fish stocks and species diversity is under severe threat.
For more information on the DOORS project or to get involved, please contact Dr. Ebun Akinsete (eakinsete@athenarc.gr) and Lydia Papadaki (Lydia.papadaki@athenarc.gr).