The Environmental Electronic eFolio, an important joint output of the Open environmental eFolio for joint maritime spatial planning and conservation of the valuable Black Sea Basin marine ecosystems (MARMAPS) project, is accessible to all.

It provides a cost-effective solution for achieving national and regional conservation targets for marine ecosystems in the Black Sea Basin.

What Is the eFolio? A Smart Toolkit for Marine Conservation

The eFolio is more than just a database, it is a practical, action-oriented toolkit that helps decision makers, scientists, and everyday citizens plan, monitor, and protect the Black Sea’s marine life. Here is what it includes:

1. Decision Support System
   • A map-based tool that analyzes 60 different scenarios to identify the best locations for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). For example:
     • Where should we limit fishing to protect dolphin habitats?
     • Which areas are most vulnerable to climate change and need urgent protection?
   • It accounts for human activities (like shipping and tourism) and climatic risks (such as rising sea temperatures) to ensure conservation efforts are data-driven and effective.

2. Capacity-Building Documents

      The eFolio also features three capacity-building documents:

1. Good governance guidelines for MPA management – Best practices for effective MPA governance.
2. Citizen science reporting tools – Tools to engage the public in monitoring and reporting marine biodiversity.
3. Prototypes of MPA monitoring protocols – Standardized methods for consistent data collection.

These documents were developed collaboratively by project partners.

Replication Guide and Open Data

A replication guide provides step-by-step instructions for implementing the decision support framework at local or national levels. All eFolio data and results are available on the Zenodo open repository for EU-funded research outputs.

Would you like to be part of marine conservation as a decision maker, scientist or a citizen? You can start today!

For more information about MARMAPS Project: https://marmaps.bsnn.org/

To discover eFolio: https://marmaps.bsnn.org/resources/efolio/

To download all modules of eFolio: HERE