The lead beneficiary of the project Joint Monitoring for Environmental Protection in BSB countries – BSB ECO MONITORING (BSB884) finalized the reconstruction and modernization of the Cross-border Centre for joint environmental monitoring.

The building is located in the town of Ahtopol, Bulgaria, situated on the territory of one of the biggest nature parks – Strandja Nature Park and is in close proximity to the Protected Area under the Birds Directive BG0002040 and the Protected Area under the Habitats Directive BG0001007. The building has now all necessary modern facilities, offering improved conditions, infrastructure and information systems that provide data on the ecological status of natural ecosystems in the targeted protected areas. The centre includes research and development laboratories, a training hall and a hall for public events.

One of the major center activities consists in offering optimized infrastructures for joint environmental monitoring in the Black Sea area and will gather scientists, researchers, local institutions, environmental communities and experts from the project countries: Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia and Romania. Their joint efforts will be directed toward common approaches and models developed for the responsible use and conservation of natural resources.

The equipment purchased for the creation of the Online Monitoring System and an intelligent platform for collection, processing and environmental data analysis, data on biodiversity, air quality, water quality in rivers, collected through observation with drones and smart wireless sensing networks provides real-time monitoring.

The President of Bulgaria had been invited to the opening ceremony of the Cross-border Center and the final conference of the project. President’s Office has confirmed participation in the inauguration event.