At the invitation of the NGO “Green Strandzha” the Via Pontica Foundation, , which has built and maintains the Ecopark for Biodiversity and Alternative Tourism “Vaya”, took part in an international conference “Presentation of Good Practices for Waste Management and Reduction in the Black Sea Basin”, under the project: “Marine and River Litter Elimination New Approach” BSB – 139, MARLENA. The project is aimed at uniting the forces of various stakeholders against the pollution of coastal areas, rivers, protected areas and nature reserves in the Black Sea basin.
The international conference took place on February 9-10, 2021, online through the ZOOM platform and offered a rich program with international participation of the project partners. The working language of the online conference was English.
On the first day were presented good practices in the process of waste management with the establishment of a regional waste management system by the Demirkoy Municipality, Turkey, NGO “Green Strandja”,Bulgaria and project partners of the MARLENA from Moldova.
As a model of best practice and opportunities revealed by a project for management and use of wetlands, the Ecopark for Biodiversity and Alternative Tourism “Vaya” was presented. The Ecopark, built and maintained by the Via Pontica Foundation, is dedicated to the conservation of natural resources, changing attitudes towards protected areas and awareness of the opportunities, benefits and responsibilities of the biodiversity conservation in Bulgaria. An area with a characteristic and remarkable landscape, the result of the harmonious coexistence of man and nature and the habitat of endangered, rare or vulnerable plant and animal species and in particular 262 bird species, of which 135 species protected by the Nature Directive and 2 protected species of the Habitats Directive. An example of best practice, the Ecopark for Ecodiversity for Biodiversity and Alternative Tourism “Vaya” is managed so as to preserve landscape components, maintain or restore habitats that meet the ecological requirements of species and communities, provide opportunities for research, educational activities and environmental monitoring, as well as for tourism and spiritual enrichment.
The program continued on the second day with the MARLENA project partners from Romania, Malko Tarnovo Municipality and the Institute for Market Problems, Economic and Environmental Research at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Joint initiatives, campaigns and eco-actions for cleaning and reducing waste in the regions were shown.
The event ended with an interesting film about best practices and cooperation in combating pollution of coastal areas of the Odessa region.