A workshop was held in Costanza in September 2016 which was followed up by a pathfinder study to test and validate the overall approach of a Regional Initiative. A follow up meeting was held in Sofia in June 2018.
The following priorities have been agreed by the various communities and organizations active in the region:
- Observation gaps:
- Black sea marine measurements (CHL, coastal altimetry, salinity, waves)
- Aerosol concentration
- Processes:
- Physical and biogeochemical processes controlling Black Sea ecosystem state
- Drivers of horizontal and vertical mixing in Black Sea and exchange between shelf and deep basin
- Coastal circulation and nutrient fluxes in Black Sea
- Deoxygenation in the Black Sea
- Onset of water stress and drought in Danube basin
- Danube ecosystem response to climate change
- Pressures/Drivers
- Global climate changes and related consequences for river-delta-sea macrosystems
- Effects of increasing human activities on river-delta-sea macrosystems
- Changes in Societal Demand on river-delta-sea macrosystems
- Environmental monitoring
- Black Sea pollution detection
- Black Sea maritime surveillance for fisheries detection
- Drought characterization for Danube basin
- Sediment dynamics characterization for Danube/Black Sea
- Danube Delta Wetlands Monitoring system
- Characterization of waste discharges into Danube drainage network
- Analysis of chemical contamination risk for Danube drainage network
- Customized climate resilience support information (Carpathian Convention)
- Balkan Land Degradation
- Urban expansion and habitat fragmentation for Balkan region
- Optimized Data Collection, Exchange and Analysis
- Integrated monitoring approach for WFD
- Interoperable data collection and analysis capability for WFD/MSFD/MSP
- Improved in-situ data collection systems