BBF team of Blue connect prject took a part in the Black Sea 2030 Forum

Burgas hosted the first edition of the international forum "Black Sea 2030: Partnership for a Sustainable Future," which marked the beginning of an initiative with the ambition to become an annual platform for cooperation between the countries in the Black Sea basin, representatives of state institutions, academia, non-governmental organizations, and business.

Among the participants were the BBF team of the BLUE CONNECT project and representatives of the organizations and institutions from the Local Stakeholder Working Group (LSWG - Burgas Bay) to the project, who focused on opportunities for future partnership and exchange of good practices.

The high-level forum included panels dedicated to the sustainable development of Black Sea municipalities, marine environment protection and climate change adaptation, the role of maritime business in the transition to a blue economy, as well as innovative and digital solutions for sustainable resource and coastal zone management. The discussions highlighted the common vision that the future of the Black Sea depends on close cooperation between institutions, science, local communities, and business—a fundamental principle also shared by the BLUE CONNECT project.

During the forum, the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation was cited as a pioneer in the restoration of seagrass. Since 2020, Bulgaria's first targeted activities to restore the seagrass Ruppia maritima have been implemented in Atanasovsko Lake, resulting in the area of the underwater meadow growing from 30 m² to 3000 m² in just two years. The experience gained creates a real model that can also be applied in the open sea to restore key marine habitats.

In the Expo zone for demonstrations and good practices, participants had the opportunity to engage in informal conversations to create conditions for productive contacts and future cooperation between representatives of institutions, science, business, and the civil sector.

The full program of the event can be found here: https://bluegatesproject.com/en/