Marine Protected Areas Day is celebrated on 1 August each year. This global initiative aims at raising awareness about marine protected areas (MPAs) and their important role in ocean conservation, sustainable development, and community well-being. Since its launch in 2021, MPA Day has grown into an international movement endorsed by the UN Ocean Decade and it is today embraced by people and organisations worldwide: https://mpaday.org.
Marine ecosystems cover most of the Earth’s surface, yet they remain undervalued and poorly protected. The EU Biodiversity Strategy acknowledges this by committing to protect at least 30% of Europe’s seas by 2030, including a minimum of 10% in areas of high biodiversity value under strict protection.
Marine protected areas are vital for safeguarding marine biodiversity, ecosystems and the services they provide. In response to the serious ecological issues facing the Black Sea, there is growing emphasis on research and initiatives aimed at conserving marine life, preventing overfishing, reducing pollution and mitigating climate change.
MARMAPS project
A contribution to the conservation of the valuable Black Sea ecosystems are the tools for collaborative spatial planning and marine biodiversity restoration. The tools have been developed by MARMAPS, Open environmental eFolio for joint maritime spatial planning and conservation of the valuable Black Sea Basin marine ecosystems, https://marmaps.bsnn.org. The project was funded by the Interreg NEXT Black Sea Basin Programme 2021–2027 with a total budget of 498 358 euros. MARMAPS was implemented by the Black Sea NGO Network, Bulgaria, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, NGO Mare Nostrum, Romania, and the Black Sea Branch of the Ukrainian Ecological Academy of Sciences, Ukraine. The project developed solutions and tools to strengthen regional conservation capabilities, supporting regional marine conservation initiatives and the creation of marine protected area networks.
The main components of the open environmental eFolio, produced by MARMAPS, include a decision support system, monitoring protocols templates, citizen science tools and a selection of best practices for MPA management.
The decision support system uses open access data on species, habitats and ecosystems in the Black Sea, and takes into account the impact of human activities. Using an innovative, three-dimensional spatial analysis framework, the system identifies the optimal locations for designating new marine protected areas, as well as improving the regional connectivity of existing and new MPAs. It also integrates biodiversity and socio-economic data into planning prioritisation schemes.
The project outputs comprise monitoring protocol templates for MPAs, outlining the elements and parameters of a framework for observing and managing protected marine ecosystems. Citizen science tools chart a path towards civic empowerment by encouraging citizens to play an active role in science and public decision-making. Good governance guidelines set out the organisational, technical, and economic conditions that enable MPA authorities to balance regulations with support for local stakeholders in their efforts to conserve valuable habitats and foster marine biodiversity.
MPAs in the Black Sea
In terms of MPA coverage across EU national waters, the Black Sea ranks third after the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Currently protected EU waters in the Black Sea account for 14% of the total area, with Bulgaria and Romania responsible for 8% and 22% of their respective marine zones. These are mainly Natura 2000 sites designated under the EU Habitats and Birds Directives as well as smaller nationally designated protected areas. As of 2022, Ukraine had 9% MPA coverage, while Georgia had 2%, including part of the Emerald network and nationally designated nature reserves. There are practically no marine protected areas in the Black Sea zones of Russia and Turkey. Most of the MPA coverage in the Black Sea is categorised as either minimally or lightly protected.
