On Tuesday, October 20, 2020, an evaluation day regarding the Smart Environmental Management of Ports and Surrounding Coastal Areas was held in Igoumenitsa by the Laboratory of Knowledge and Intelligent Computing of the Department of Informatics & Telecommunications of the University of Ioannina, in the framework of the project “ECOPORTIL-Environmental Protection of Areas Surrounding Ports using Innovative Learning Tools for Legislation”(www.ecoportil.eu), which is implemented through the Transnational Cooperation Program Balkan-Mediterranean 2014-2020. In compliance with the health restrictions imposed due to COVID-19, the event was broadcast live and those interested had the opportunity to participate without physical presence.

The event was honored by the presence of Mr. Athanasios Porphyris, CEO of the Igoumenitsa Port Authority, who welcomed the event and analyzed the holistic approach already applied by the Igoumenitsa Port Authority for the effective management of its energy-intensive, energy-intensive activities and social benefits, while additionally presenting the strategic expansion plan of Igoumenitsa Port Authority.

The Director of the Laboratory and scientifically responsible for the project, Prof. Chrysostomos Stylios, briefly presented the actions and results of the project, which includes partners from 4 countries: Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Albania, emphasizing the need to monitor and improve Ports’ and coastal areas’ quality, contributing to their sustainability through the application of modern methodologies and good practices in line with EU and national legislation and utilizing innovative Information and Communication Technology tools as a measure to prevent pollution and the possibility of utilizing Artificial Intelligence for the benefit of the Environment and Shipping.

Prof. Nikitas Nikitakos of the Department of Shipping & Business Services of the University of the Aegean, analyzed the idea of a port of zero pollutants and the creation of a smart grid based on the use of renewable energy sources, as well as technological developments that have led to the 4^th Industrial Revolution in Shipping.

Emmanuel Nicolaides, Assoc. Professor of the Department of Shipping & Commerce of the University of Frederick in Cyprus, described the environmental assessment process, which was implemented through specially designed and specialized questionnaires, as well as the results and the contribution of ECOPORTIL to the environmentally sustainable port management. In addition, he presented the effectiveness of the free online asynchronous courses available through the e-learning platform, which was developed by the team of the Laboratory of Knowledge & Intelligent Computing.

Educational Seminar and Webinar of ECOPORTIL

The University of Ioannina is organizing an educational seminar -and webinar at the same time, on “Environmental management of ports and their neighboring coastal areas”, on Thursday, July 23, 2020.

Interested parties can attend the Seminar in Igoumenitsa, while, it is possible to attend it live online via Zoom.

Venue: Angelika Pallas Hotel, Igoumenitsa

Live online attendance via Zoom:

https://zoom.us/j/95157518625#success

The official language is Greek.

The Department of Shipping, Trade and Transport of the University of the Aegean, within the framework of the Ecoportil project, organizes on-line seminars on Environmental Protection for Shipping and Ports.

The duration of the seminars is 6 hours and the attendance is free for the public. The seminars will be held in Greek.

Attendees will receive a Certificate of Attendance.

Program:

• Monday 20/07/2020, 10:00 – 13:00

“Principles of Waste Management”, D. Lamprou, Environmentalist, Quality Factor

“Waste Management On-Board Ships”, A.M. Kotrikla, Assist. Professor, University of the Aegean

(Join by clicking here: https://aegean-gr.zoom.us/j/96049600615?pwd=dmpPSlNYZS8xeFVXRWZPZU9JNm8yUT09)

• Thursday 23/07/2020, 10:00 – 13:00

“The Green Port”, N. Nikitakos, Professor, University of the Aegean

“Clean Ports: Protective Legislation”, V. Athanassopoulou, Assist. Professor, University of the Aegean

(Join by clicking here: https://aegean-gr.zoom.us/j/94254238556?pwd=MmVnc3A5MmNuenNsR1NNMFRFbTZiQT09)

For more information: akotr@aegean.gr

A course of training of BG stakeholders has been prepared, organized via electronic platform https://seminars.ecoportl.bg and conducted (23-26 June 2020) in the framework of 4 separate seminars. The 15 lectures of the seminars were scientific applied research and were published in a book as a teaching aid for the participants during the education. The participants of the course were personnel of the Maritime Administration Directorate – Varna and Burgas, Executive Environment Agency- Regional Lab, Burgas and Varna, Varna Municipality, representatives of the Ministry of Environment and Water, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, NGO organizations, Universities.

The lectures are published in  a book: “Environmental protection of the Bulgarian Black Sea Ports and their surrounding areas”, Book of lectures, Sofia, University Publishing House “Kliment Ohridski” – Unipress, Еds. J.Marinski & I.Fytondgieva; ISBN 978-954-07-4928-0 remains and will be used after the end of the project. 

The training of BG stakeholders in the educational course “Implementation of the legislation for environmental  protection in the Bulgarian Black Sea ports and their surrounding  areas”  has become a real challenge for all lecturers –teachers  during the 4-day training seminars. Environmental legislation includes over 300 legal regulations, very often without internal coordination, allowing users to apply it selectively depending on their personal or group interests. As a result, 70% of the dunes along the Bulgarian Black sea strip have been legally converted into private property, although the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria explicitly says that it is public state property. Apart from that there have been built hotels and palaces on the beach, with private ports located in front of them, although both the beaches and coastal waters are exclusive public state property. Legal failures, legal anachronisms and absurdities in the protection of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast catalyzed the mass protests in Burgas, Varna and all over the country during summer of 2020.

In the frame of ECOPORTIL project, University of Ioannina and Port Authority of Igoumenitsa have developed a fruitful cooperation for the improvement of environmental quality through the utilization of technology and innovation. To this end of a new air quality monitoring station will be installed in the premises of the Port Authority in Igoumenitsa Port, Greece.

On 7^th July in the premises of the Port Authority of Igoumenitsa a very interesting meeting was held between the Administration of Port Authority of Igoumenitsa and Mr Chrysostomos Stylios, Professor of the Department of Informatics & Telecommunications of the University of Ioannina & Director of the Laboratory of Knowledge and Intelligent Computing. The meeting produced useful conclusions for the improvement of environmental conditions in the port with the utilization of cutting-edge technologies and by the adoption of innovative tools.

The main topic of the meeting was the conservation of natural marine resources, which is one of the basic requirements of Blue Growth and the main object of Europe strategy. This issue is addressed by the European Project ECOPORTIL – Environmental Protection of Areas Surrounding Ports using Innovative Learning Tools for Legislation, listed in INTERREG Balkan-Mediterranean 2014-2020. The Department. of Informatics & Telecommunications of the University of Ioannina is the Lead Partner of ECOPORTIL.

In the frame of ECOPORTIL, an air quality monitoring station will be installed in the premises of the Port Authority in Igoumenitsa Port, in order to provide real time information about the air quality in the Port and its surrounding areas. The data will be recorded and displayed in aGeographical Information System that will be designed and operated by research team of the Laboratory of Knowledge and Intelligent Computing (University of Ioannina). The major goal of this effort stands in the scientific monitoring and the examination of the port environment.

On Thursday 21st May 2020, a meeting with the Head of the port authority of Chios, Ms Irene Argyri has taken place in the Port Authority’s premises at Chios. At first, Dr I. Dagkinis made an overview of Ecoportil Project. Then Assistant Professor A.M. Kotrikla presented information on the launching of e-learning courses on shipping, ports, and the environment in the framework of Ecoportil. During the discussion that followed, Ms Argyri said that she supports life learning opportunities of the personnel of the port authority and that there is interest from the employees of the port authority to attend seminars on environmental issues.

“ECOPORTIL” – “Environmental Protection of Areas Surrounding Ports using Innovative Learning Tools for Legislation” project, launches FREE educational e-learning courses addressing interesting professionals, personnel of coast guard, staff of port authorities, staff members of related SMEs and any other interested individual.

Eligible trainees are personnel of the ports, ships’ officers, employees of shipping companies, young professionals, university students and recent graduates in the field of port and coastal management.

The content of the online courses corresponds to the training needs of related stakeholders that there were identified by an investigation procedure performed in Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Albania. The aim of the online seminars is to improve the capacity building of stakeholders at ports and nearby coastal zones; while, the main objectives focus on the enhancement of the abilities of personnel in charge to prevent pollution and preserve the marine resources.

Courses content consist of seven main modules: 1. Air Quality; 2. Energy Efficiency and Climate Change 3.Water Quality (emphasis on oil pollution and BWM); 4. Waste Management at Ships and Ports; 5. Eco mapping of The Environmental Condition in the Ports;  6. Environmental Management Systems (ISO, EMAS, PERS); 7. National Legislation          

The learning procedure has been designed in way to facilitate busy professionals. Training is based on asynchronous method. The courses will be delivered online and the attendees will be able to follow them upon their schedule.  

Training material is suitable for coast guard personnel, port authorities’ staff, ships’ officers, employees of shipping companies, young professionals, university students and recent graduates in the field of port and coastal management.

After the fulfillment of the courses all successful attendees will receive a certification of attendance provided by University of Ioannina (Lead Partner of the project).

For the registration procedure, all interested parties should visit the project website. Registration will be available by following the link http://www.ecoportil.eu/e-learning/

The ECOPORTIL project, in which Frederick Research Center is a key partner, was officially presented in Limassol on Friday, March 6, 2020 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

The Head of Marine Environment Unit of the Shipping Deputy Ministry of Cyprus, Mr Ioannis Efstratiou, initiated the presentations with a review of ‘Environmental Obligations of Ships within Port Areas’. Dr Demetris Kletou, Director of Marine & Environmental Research Labs (MER) followed with his presentation on ‘Understanding air and water pollution, Environmental Management of Ports and Surrounding Areas’. The Research Coordinator of Frederick University’s Department of Maritime Transport & Commerce, Mrs Carol Bailey, presented the ‘Objectives of the ECOPORTIL project’. The final presentations regarding the ‘Education program’ of the project were presented by Dr Anna-Maria Kotrikla, Assistant Professor from the Department of Shipping, Transport and Trade, University of the Aegean and Dr Emmanouil Nikolaidis, Assistant Professor from the Department of Maritime Transport & Commerce, Frederick University. The open forum attracted the interest of industry professionals, such as employees and managers of shipping and ship management organisations, research organisations, as well as participants from the local Academia and a number of students in related fields.

Briefly, the project aims at enhancing environmental protection of areas surrounding ports and coastal areas through the development of innovative learning tools for legislation in the context of the Europe 2020 Sustainable Blue Development Strategy.

In particular, it seeks to improve the environmental quality of ports and coastal areas by enhancing their sustainability, through the use of innovative tools and methods to train the stakeholders as a mean of preventing pollution and protecting marine life.

This project is expected to benefit the Port Authorities, the Coast Guard, the Shipping Industry, the Transport Sector, as well as port-related positions that in various ways are affecting the coastal environment.

The project has a total budget of € 850,567.41 and is funded by the Interreg V-B Balkan-Mediterranean 2014-2020 Transnational Cooperation Program, which is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the National Funds of the participating countries.

The project is coordinated by the University of Ioannina, while other partners, in addition to Frederick Research Center, include the University of the Aegean, the Bulgarian Port Infrastructure Company, the Bulgarian National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology in Bulgaria.

The 3^rd Project Steering Committee Meeting of the ECOPORTIL Project was held on 28^th and 29^th November 2019 the Headquarters of Frederick University in Limassol Cyprus.

This meeting was of outmost importance as a new partner, namely the Frederick Research Center, has recently entered the consortium. Therefore, one of the major goals of the partners was to provide in-depth information for all stages of the implementation and future steps of ECOPORTIL. The Lead Partner, University of Ioannina, welcomed the Frederick Research Center and discussed in detail all the scope of their work, and the new partners’ involvement within the project activities and deliverables. During the meeting all the partners had the opportunity to exchange ideas with each other in order to enhance the quality of the deliverables.

On the top of the agenda stood also the preparations for the web-based informational educational platform. In particular, an e-platform will be and developed soon in order to cover all the needs regarding the education and the training of Port Authorities, Coast Guards, Organizations closely affiliated with sustainable port management and other related stakeholders of the project. During the meeting specific topics of education were discussed such as oil and air pollution, waste management, legislation and certification issues in ports. To this end the Steering Committee defined the contribution of each partner to the collection and organization of educational material, as well as the implementation of the courses. Every topic was assigned to partners that have strong record in expertise in the aforementioned subjects.

Eventually, financial and management issues were further communicated within the consortium along with the communication and dissemination activities. All partners took turns to report and evaluate the progress of their activities, while the Lead Partner provided useful guidance when needed. In order to follow up and proper monitor the project progress all partners agreed that that they will enhance internal communication procedures.

ECOPORTIL Project aims to improve the environmental quality of ports and their surrounding coastal environment by supporting their sustainability. Partners involved are: University of Ioannina – Lead Partner, University of the Aegean, Bulgarian Ports Infrastructure Company, National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology, Frederick Research Center and Institute of Transport. It is recalled, that the Project belongs to Priority Axis II Environment | Specific Objective: 2.3 Delivery on environmental legal framework Thematic Objective: Enhancing institutional capacity of public authorities and stakeholders and efficient public administration of INTERREG Balkan – Mediterranean 2014 – 2020.

Mr. Florjan Xhelilaj, from the Albanian Institute of Transport, participated in an event organized in the frame of the European Project PORTS – Partnership for the Observation and study of new Routes and Transnational Sea-highways “Best Practices Event – Examples of new Motorways of the Sea in recent years. The case of Motorway of the Baltic Sea”. The event took place in Durres, Albania on 21^st November 2019.

During the event, Mr Xhelilaj, had the opportunity to present the overall general objective of  ECOPORTIL – Environmental Protection of Areas Surrounding Ports using Innovative Learning Tools for Legislation” Project. Through a very interesting presentation the general description of the overall objectives and activities of ECOPORTIL project were depicted and further discussed and explained with relative stakeholders.

Moreover, possible and collaborations with other European projects such as PORTS and MultiAPPRO, were examined based on the findings of ECOPORTIL so far.

ECOPORTIL Project was presented in a Workshop organized by the Regional Unit of Igoumenitsa Greece on 14th October 2019. The aim of the workshop was the presentation of the European SUMPORT Project and the creation of synergies with other European Projects addressing sustainable urban mobility, transportation and public transport.

The University of Ioannina, Lead Partner of ECOPORTIL, represented by Prof. Stylios and executive staff of the Laboratory of Knowledge and Intelligent Computing, participated in the workshop and presented the Project. In particular, the recent results of the project were discussed stressing the importance for further utilization of the innovative tools and methods that will be developed in the frame of ECOPORTIL for the sustainable management of maritime sector.

Synergies and networking with other European Projects such as SUMPORT, INTER-CONNECT, AI SMART, COASTING, ADRIPASS, New Brain and OptiTrans, were created in order to transfer and expand ECOPORTIL results.

Critical findings of ECOPORTIL Project, regarding the European Legislation on shipping and ports, were presented on a scientific paper within the 16th Conference on Environmental Science and Technology organized on 4th -7th September 2019 in Rhodes Island, Greece.

Indeed, the major results of ECOPORTIL project and more specifically the ones deriving from Work Package 3 regarding the current environmental issues and legislation in national and transnational level, were introduced in a special session on Environmental Impact of Maritime Transport that was supported by universities, research centers and organizations. Following the presentation of ECOPORTIL the participants further discussed on relative issues such as oil spills, ship recycling, waste management, air pollution and environmental policies and legislations, while the contribution of ECOPORTIL towards the sustainability support and environmental quality of ports and their surrounding coastal environment was highly appraised.

The paper presented was “European environmental compulsory framework on shipping and ports”, written by Kotrikla A.M., Andrea V., Nikitakos N., Stylios C.

On 30 October 2019 in the hall “Petya Dubarova” at the Cultural center “Sea Casino” in the town of Burgas was held an information meeting to raise awareness of the consequences on marine environment caused by marine litter. The meeting was organized by the Basin Directorate “Black Sea Region” in partnership with the municipality of Burgas, “Green Balkans” NGO, the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology and the Via Pontica Foundation. At the meeting were invited state around and entrepreneurs of the business sector in the face of merchants, beach concessioners, users of beach services, fishermen, as well as the public-academics, students, etc., directly involved with The effects on the marine environment and human health caused by marine litter and the need to recycle them

During 22-26 October 2019 in Marmaris, Turkey was held 14 International MEDCOAST Congress on Coastal and Marine Sciences, Engineering, Management and Conservation. The team of NIMH participate with scientific paper

Dimitrova M., Galabov V., Kortcheva A. and Marinski J., 2019 Use of Satellite Data in Marine Early Warning System. Which was published in Proc. 14 International MEDCOAST Congress on Coastal and Marine Sciences, Engineering, Management and Conservation; Ozhan, E. (editor), MEDCOAST 19, vol. 1, pp. 139-150.

The results of ECOPORTIL project was present by Jordan Marinski.

The MEDCOAST’19 participants propose setting up of a new EC program that urges and financially supports networking cooperation among scientist and scientific institutions, local administrations, coastal and marine economic sectors and non-governmental organizations, especially in the Black Sea basin. Understanding of climate change impacts on coastal and marine habitats and ecosystems carry great importance for designing effective measures aiming reduction of negative effects. Concerted research programs for investigating such impacts with collaboration of scientists from all riparian countries should be a priority action for sponsoring institutions.

KIC LAB organized an “Environmental Status Workshop” on 26/7/2019, in Igoumenitsa, Greece, about the Current Environmental Status in the Port and Coastline of Igoumenitsa aiming at Enhancing institutional capacity of public authorities and stakeholders and efficient public administration, and actively involving the Municipality and the Port Authority of Igoumenitsa.

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 18^th 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”

In June 2018, a meeting was organized at the Central Port Authority of Chios between the head of the Port Authority Mrs Irene Argyri and Dr Anna Kotrikla on behalf of the University of the Aegean. The aim of the meeting was to inform the port authority for the aims and activities of Ecoportil project, discuss the main environmental problems that the ports are encountering and find the educational and training needs of the port authority personnel in order to prepare a tailor-made educational model to meet their needs. To this end, information material on Ecoportil and a simple questionnaire asking for their preference of the training topics was shared. Two meetings with the same purpose were organized in Lesvos. One meeting took place on September 2018 with the Hellenic Port Authority Fund of the Municipality of Lesvos and the second on October 2018 with the Port Police Bureau for Marine Environment Protection.

From the analysis of the questionnaires on the preferred training topics, it was found that the port authorities of Mytilene would prefer to focus on marine pollution (priority on the use of anti-pollution equipment – protection from oil spills), atmospheric pollution (the port authorities can only detect heavy atmospheric pollution (smoking), whereas the detection of atmospheric pollutants requires equipment and training not available), legislation on environmental protection at ports and Environmental Management Systems at Ports (especially related to Garbage Management). Similarly, the port authorities of Chios preferred training on marine pollution (sources, methods of response), legislation on environmental protection of ports and Environmental Management Systems at Ports. The results of these consultations will be considered to select the areas of training and compile the syllabus of the seminar. Using the basic principles of adult learning, the training seminars are designed by involving the potential learners from the planning stages and incorporating professional experiences that learners bring.

Press Release

4 April 2018, Sofia, Bulgaria

The Bulgarian Ports Infrastructure Company (BPI Co.) hosted the Launching Event on the project Environmental Protection of Areas Surrounding Ports using Innovative Learning Tools for Legislation – (ECOPORTIL) within the “Interreg Balkan- Mediterranean 2014-2020” Transnational Cooperation Programme, held in Sofia on 3rd of April 2018. The Project Partners from Greece, Albania and Bulgaria attended the event.

The Bulgarian Ports Infrastructure Company (BPI Co.) presented the Project to stakeholders, academia and research, and business.

The aim of the project is to improve the quality of the environment of ports and surrounding coastal areas by supporting their sustainability through of advanced methodologies and good practices in line with European and national legislation. Among the tasks of the project is the achievement of sustainable maritime sector able to balance between the needs of shipping transportation, the commercial port activities and the environmental protection measures and EU / national legislation. In the course of the project implementation, environmental monitoring will be improved through advanced ICT methods and tools.

                                                                               “Project co-funded by the European Union and
National funds of the participating countries”

PRESS RELEASE

30  March 2018, Sofia, Bulgaria

Launching event of the NIMH – BAS for efficient implementation of environmental legislation  in coastal zone

The kick-off conference-event launching the implementation of the ECOPORTIL- Environmental Protection of Areas Surrounding Ports with Innovative Learning Tools for Legislation  project within the “Interreg Balkan- Mediterranean 2014-2020” Transnational Cooperation Programme took place on 30th March 2018 from 14 h in the Hall ROME of the Metropolitan Hotel in Sofia. The conference was organized by National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology at the Bulgarian Academy of  Sciences and attended by representatives of governmental, educational and research institutions and stakeholders  from Sofia and the country interested in the project subject.

The opening welcome speech was delivered by the scientific secretary of institute Prof. Tanya Marinova on behalf of Prof. Hristomir Branzov- Director of NIMH-BAS. She emphasised the ECOPORTIL project importance for the environmental improvement of the big Bulgarian seaports areas and also for the activity of the institute.

The agenda of the conference envisaged 6 presentations on topics related to the environmental issues of ports and their neighbouring territories.

Prof. Nicolay Kozarev from the University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy reported the first on general problems of Monitoring and Management of the Environmental Qualiity. He accentuated the role of the monitoring and models as a first task of effective implementation of environmental legislation.

An information concerning the Air Pollution and Specific Meteorological Conditions at the Adjacent Areas of Sea Ports, based on model assessments, performed in implementation of the projects preceding ECOPORTIL, was presented by Prof.  Ekaterina Bachvarova from NIMH . 

Assessment of Water Quality in Surrounding Areas of Burgas Port was the topic of the presentation of Magdalena Korsachka, Assistant Professor from NIMH. Reported and analyzed were data obtained by measurements at 23 different observation points in the area of the Burgas Bay and port waters.

The next presentation was dedicated to the Application of Advanced Mathematical Models for Predicting of Dangerous Phenomena in the Adjacent Areas of Seaports for More Efficient Management of Processes of Environmental Protection, delivered by Assoc. Prof. Anna Korcheva from NIMH.

Ample information  covering the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and Its Transposition into Bulgarian Legislation was introduced by Tania Trenkova, Assistant Professor from the National Institute of Geophysics, Geography and Geodesy – BAS.

Finally the project manager on the part of NIMH Prof. Jordan Marinski presented the project  ECOPRTIL objectives and tasks. He cited data witnessing the extreme danger of the current state of the Black sea pollution for the nature and the society and the necessity of introduction of efficient system of environment legislation implementation for  protection of coastal zone, based on the permanent monitoring and the actual science. He said the project is expected to contribute to achieving sustainable management of ports and surrounding areas in line with the European and national legislation and in compliance with the EU’s strategy for the Balkans.

Before closing the event, the presentations were followed by public discussions. The most important of them was the proposal made by  Assoc. Prof. Ventzi Karamfilov, from the  Laboratory of Marine Ecology in Sozopol of the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research (IBER– BAS) for establishment of collaboration between NIMH and the IBER in implementation of the projects ECOPORTIL and RECONNECT. The last project, also funded in line of INTERREG program,  aims to evaluate the quality of marine ecosystems and to promote the sustainable conservation of those vulnerable and fragile habitats through joint initiatives. The proposal was accepted.

                                                                                                Project co-funded by the European Union

                                                                                                and national funds of the participating countries

 PRESS RELEASE

The ECOPORTIL -Environmental Protection of Areas Surrounding Ports with Innovative Learning Tools for Legislation Project, was launched on February 27th 2018 in the University of the Aegean, in Chios, Greece with active participation of local stakeholders.

The project partners are: the Technological Educational Institute of Epirus, the University of the Aegean, the Bulgarian Ports Infrastructure Company, the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Maritime Institute of Eastern Mediterranean from Cyprus and the Institute of Transport from Albania.

In the opening speech Mr. Nikitakos Nikitas, Professor at the University of the Aegean, explained the different alternative choices in shipping and ports to comply with the new regulations and the innovations that will lead to the port of the future.

The Assistant professor Ms. Anna Maria Kotrikla talked about the technical part of the new regulations of IMO and European Union regarding atmospheric pollutant emissions, especially for NOx, PM, SO2 and CO2 and presented the results of a monitoring campaign of PM, SO2 and O3 near the port of Chios.

The Assistant professor, Ms. Victoria Athanasopoulou referred to the legal framework of ports, which consists of a complicated set of provisions of international, European and national law and presented several rules on port security and environmental protection.

Professor Nikitakos closed the event with a presentation on the general framework of the Project and the project activities including the monitoring of environmental issues in the specific areas, the checking of legislation issues in every country, the definition of the needs of training, the development of Web GIS to be used for monitoring and providing the tools for the e-learning training and finally the realization of training projects.

Finally, there was a fruitful discussion and answers to the questions of the participants who were mainly from Port Authorities, researchers, educational staff as well as students.

                                                                               “Project co-funded by the European Union and

                                                                              National funds of the participating countries”

 PRESS RELEASE

Arta, 22 December 2017

Launching event of TEI of Epirus for innovative methodologies for environmental protection

The Launching Event of the ECOPORTIL- Environmental Protection of Areas Surrounding Ports with Innovative Learning Tools for Legislation project was organized and held in the city of Arta, Greece, on 20th December 2017 within the “Interreg Balkan- Mediterranean 2014-2020” Transnational Cooperation Programme.

Project Lead Partner is the Technological Educational Institute of Epirus (TEIEP). The project partners are: University of the Aegean from Greece, the Bulgarian Ports Infrastructure Company, the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Maritime Institute of Eastern Mediterranean from Cyprus and the Institute of Transport from Albania. Representatives of the partners attended the event.

The Vice Rector of TEI of Epirus, Professor, Mr. Pericles Tangas, honored with his presence the event and addressed the participants at the Launching Event.

In the opening speech Mr. Nikitakos Nikitas, Professor at the University of the Aegean, presented the green harbors, i.e. environmentally friendly ports as well as innovative models and systems that contribute to the protection of the environment of the ports and coastal areas.

Subsequently, the Assistant Professor at the University of Patras, Mr. Ierotheos Zacharias, spoke about the danger faced by the Amvrakikos Gulf ecosystem and the need for immediate protection and remediation measures and presented modern tools as well as management and prognosis measures that can be used.

The Assistant Professor at the University of Ioannina, Mr. Kalampounias Angelos in his speech, stressed the serious problem of air pollution in cities and ports. He presented the mobile laboratories that can be used for in-motion measurements and mapping of pollution as well as the immediate measures that can be taken at no cost to reduce pollutants in cities and ports.

The Doctor of Satellite and Meteorology, Mr. Kolios Stavros, talked about the role of Geographic Information Systems in the analytical study and monitoring of the natural environment.

The Launching Event was closed by the Professor at the TEI of Epirus and Project Coordinator in Greece, Mr. Stylios Chrysostomos, who presented the ECOPORTIL Project. The Project aims are 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.

Finally, there was a prolific debate and answers to the questions of the participants who were mainly from Port Authorities, researchers, educational staff as well as students.

The main target groups benefiting from the ECOPORTIL project will be Port Authorities, Coast guard, the transportation sector, people who are working in jobs related to port daily life affecting through many different ways the coastal environment and everyone who is interested to involve and take advantage of the Project.

                                                                             “Project co-funded by the European Union and
national funds of the participating countries”