The Black Sea is home to valuable marine habitats, species, and coastal communities. However, protecting this shared ecosystem is difficult when countries collect and use environmental information in different ways.

The project MARMAPS: Open environmental eFolio for joint maritime spatial planning and conservation of the valuable Black Sea Basin marine ecosystems helped address this challenge by bringing organisations from Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, and Ukraine together to improve cooperation, data sharing, and planning for marine conservation. Partners collected and standardised more than 1,200 data entries, creating a stronger shared basis for identifying important marine areas.

The project developed an open-access environmental eFolio with a decision support system that produces 60 scenarios for possible Marine Protected Areas. It also created monitoring templates, citizen science guidance, and governance recommendations to support consistent data collection and inclusive conservation planning.

These results can help authorities make better-informed decisions about marine protection and balance conservation with activities such as fishing, shipping, tourism, and energy use. Citizens can benefit from healthier coastal areas and greater opportunities to take part in monitoring and protecting their marine environment.

More than 100 people participated in the “Wonders of the Black Sea” photography contest, including many young people. The project also established the Black Sea Initiative for Promoting Marine Conservation and made its methods, results, and datasets publicly available for future use.

MARMAPS has created a practical foundation for stronger cross-border cooperation and long-term protection of the Black Sea.

For More Information, visit the project website: MARMAPS Website.