Events
The National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology organized an Information meeting to raise awareness of the consequences for the marine environment Measure 5_ Marine Strategy for Protection of the Environment in the Marine Waters of the Republic of Bulgaria. The meeting took place on 5 June 2019 – World Environment Day, in Hotel “Cherno more”, Varna, Bulgaria. During the meeting NIMH has presented results from the implementation of ECOPORTIL project. The participants Interest on the project was significant. The discussions carried out have led to the coordination of different forms of cooperation with Basin Directorate for Water Management in the Black Sea Region – Varna during the forthcoming training seminars of stakeholders and staff, that will be organized by NIMH.
The Laboratory of Knowledge and Intelligent Computing (KIC) organized a Stakeholders’ Meeting in Igoumenitsa, Greece on 18th April 2019. The meeting attended several key organizations involved with the sustainable management of the Port of Igoumenitsa, such as the Municipality, the Port Authority and the Hellenic Coast Guard. Executive staff of KIC accompanied by Professor Stylios and representatives of the Municipality of Igoumenitsa, the Port Authority and the Hellenic Coast Guard have joined a very fruitful and productive discussion for the upgrading of the City of Igoumenitsa in a smart city with the use of cutting edge technologies incorporating the environmental protection of the port. During the meeting, all the innovative learning tools of ECOPORTIL were presented and further discussed with representatives of all the organizations in order to establish the input of the Special training courses that will soon take place in order to improve their knowledge and bridging the information gap for incorporating legislation and adopting good environmental practices. The Port Authority and the Municipality of Igoumenitsa, as well as the Hellenic Coast Guard are in close collaboration with KIC and therefore, they have set an interactive multilevel cooperation framework under ECOPORTIL Project; the strategic synergy including all the aforementioned stakeholders is aiming at the transition of the maritime sector into a sustainable one able to balance between the needs of shipping transportation, the commercial port activities and the environmental protection measures and EU/national legislations in line with Blue Growth EU Strategy.
Press Release
4 April 2019, Sofia, Bulgaria
The National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (NIMH) organized a conference presenting the implementation of ECOPORTIL project
On April 4, 2019, at the Metropolitan Hotel in Sofia, the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (NIMH) organized a conference presenting the implementation of the EU-funded INTERREG Balkan-Mediterranean ECOPORTTIL project – –” Environmental Protection of Areas Surrounding Ports using Innovative Learning Tools of Legislation”. Representatives of state and municipal institutions and departments, as well as of scientific organizations and higher education institutions interested in the project’s themes and objectives participated. The conference was opened by Prof. Plamen Ninov, Deputy Director General of NIMH, who emphasized the significance of the project both for improving the environment along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast and for the activity of the Institute itself.
Discussions during the conference focused on the extremely topical issue of protecting water, air, beaches, dunes, biodiversity, coastal natural resources through legislation and its implementation. Attention is drawn to the shortcomings in the law-making process itself. It was pointed out the paradoxical fact that the actual BSCMA does not really protect the environment but rather takes care of the protection of private sites and infrastructure along the coast which, even more paradoxically, are built with the permission of this law itself in the most dangerous area – the wave and surf creep zones. As a consequence of this construction destroyed legally are beaches and dunes. There is a discrepancy between the European directives transposed into the national environmental legislation and the practical reality. The results of the surveys show that in fact the rapid urbanization of the coastal areas with no previous built-up of quality infrastructure is the other main reason for deterioration of the environment, while the contribution of the port activities to its pollution is much more limited.
Under this conditions of the Bulgarian coast and legislation, the ECOPORTIL project proposes and develops a systemic approach for the effective implementation of the existing environmental legislation as an anti-BSCMA antithesis. The system of implementation of environmental legislation in practice includes work on several areas: 1) Legal protection by asserting compliance between laws and reality 2) Managing the risk of dangerous phenomena in the protection of air and sea water 3) Enhanced monitoring and uncompromising control to comply with the norms and standards 4) Establishing of a permanent pollutant database with a view to obtaining accurate and professional environmental impact assessment 5) Establishing a methodology for active eco-mapping and real-time response 6) training of staff working with the system.
The ECOPORTIL project is expected to contribute to achieving of sustainable development and environmental management of ports and adjoining areas in line with European and national legislation as well as with the EU’s strategy for the Balkans.
“Project co-funded by the European Union and
National funds of the participating countries”
The ECOPORTIL -Environmental Protection of Areas Surrounding Ports with Innovative Learning Tools for Legislation Project, was launched on April 27th 2018 in the Port of Durres, Albania with active participation of local stakeholders.
During the meeting the ICT tools for monitoring environmental issues regarding the greater port areas were presented as well as the balance between the needs of shipping transportation, the commercial port activities and the environmental protection measures.
The Launching event of the NIMH – BAS (National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) for the ECOPORTIL Project, for efficient implementation of environmental legislation in coastal zone, was held on 30th March 2018 in the Hall ROME of the Metropolitan Hotel in Sofia.
The launch event for official start of the EU funded project “ECOPORTIL – Environmental Protection of Areas Surrounding Ports using Innovative Learning Tools for Legislation“ will be held on 20th of December 2017 at Hotel Byzantino, Arta, Greece, starting at 12:00.
The ECOPORTIL project aims to improve the environmental quality of ports and their surrounding coastal environment by supporting their sustainability, through the implementation of modern methodologies and good practices according to EU and national legislation as well as through innovative tools and methods for the training and capacity building of stakeholders in the ports and nearby coastal zones as a prevention measure of pollution and preservation of natural maritime resources.
