The Interreg NEXT Black Sea Basin Programme plays a key role in strengthening cross-border cooperation and advancing sustainable development across the region. By bringing together national, regional and local actors, it promotes joint solutions in innovation, climate adaptation, environmental protection and community engagement, directly supporting the implementation of the Black Sea Common Maritime Agenda. A range of funded initiatives demonstrates how collaborative action at the local level can deliver tangible results, contributing to a more resilient Black Sea and generating wider regional impact.
BlackNETs tackling marine pollution
The BlackNETs project addresses a critical environmental challenge: abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear, often referred to as ghost gear. This hidden pollutant continues to harm marine life, degrade ecosystems and affect coastal livelihoods. Working across Romania, Türkiye, Bulgaria and Georgia, the project delivered the first coordinated regional assessment basin-wide strategy, combining methodologies, data and stakeholder surveys, and interventions by advanced tools such as drones, underwater mapping, and large-scale clean-up operations to identify accumulation hotspots across different marine environments, removing more than 9.5 tonnes of fishing gear. BlackNETs also created a shared evidence base to inform policy and support marine biodiversity through national and regional workshops promoting dialogue between local communities, scientist and public authorities, contributing to restoring marine biodiversity, improving economic resilience in the fisheries sector and supporting the transition a more circular and sustainable blue economy.
The total budget of the project is EUR 456.660, of which EUR 410.993 of EU funds.
Preserving biodiversity and food security through SEEDGUARD
The SEEDGUARD responds to the loss of agricultural biodiversity in the Black Sea region, where traditional crop varieties are increasingly under threat. Through cooperation between Bulgaria, Türkiye, Romania and Georgia, the project established Community Seed Collections in four pilot areas. These collections preserve heritage seeds while enabling communities to reproduce and share them. Supported by training and open learning resources, the initiative strengthens climate resilience, promotes sustainable agriculture and contributes to long-term food security. The English version of the modules could be accessed here, and its final promotional video “Guardians of our living heritage” is available here, illustrating how communities across the Black Sea are working together to protect traditional seeds, reconnect with agricultural heritage and safeguard biodiversity for future generations, highlighting the vital role of seeds as a source of resilience, identity and sustainable food systems.
The total budget of the project is EUR 489.048, of which EUR 440.143 of EU funds.
INTERSMARTS, advancing sustainable tourism
Tourism remains a key driver of the regional economy but faces growing challenges linked to environmental pressure and changing demand. The INTERSMARTS project promotes more sustainable and innovative tourism practices. By connecting universities, businesses and public authorities, the project created an Innovation Management Platform that fosters a collaborative ecosystem that enables stakeholders to exchange knowledge, share real examples and develop practical solutions. Recognised as the “Winner of the Winners” at the Black Sea Project Awards 2025, INTERSMARTS demonstrates how collaboration and digital tools can reduce the ecological footprint and safeguard natural resources on which the sector depends, while supporting the development of a competitive, innovative, and sustainable tourism.
The total budget of the project is EUR 554.606, of which EUR 499.145 of EU funds.
MARMAPS, strengthening marine conservation
The MARMAPS project addresses long-standing gaps in marine conservation by improving access to reliable data and coordinated planning. It developed a shared framework for maritime spatial planning and provides decision-makers with data-driven scenarios to identify priority areas for marine protection. By combining ecological and human activity data across borders, the project supports evidence-based conservation approaches and regional cooperation by building capacity among stakeholders involved and EU initiatives. At regional level, it has established a standardised basis for biodiversity protection, supporting progress and achievement under the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Its results also contribute to the EU Biodiversity Strategy target of protecting at least 30% of Europe’s seas by 2030, while reinforcing the CMA priorities of preservation of healthy and resilient marine ecosystems.
The total budget of the project is EUR 498.358, of which EUR 448.522 of EU funds.
STEP2CleanPlan supporting climate action at local level
Many local authorities face challenges in translating climate strategies into practical measures. The STEP2CleanPlan project strengthens their capacity to plan and implement effective actions aligned with EU and national climate frameworks. Through training, mentoring and knowledge exchange involving Türkiye, Greece and Bulgaria, the project developed practical planning tools in areas such as energy efficiency, mobility and emissions reduction. These solutions enhance local governance to advance in climate adaptation and resilience, support the transition to climate-neutral communities and promote transferable models for the public governance that ensure wider application, directly contributing to the CMA priorities of strengthening resilience and collaborative efforts among the Black Sea communities and beyond. .
Together, these five initiatives demonstrate how coordinated and locally driven action can address shared challenges, including pollution, climate change and economic sustainability, while creating new opportunities for development and innovation. Even though these initiatives operate in different sectors, they reflect success in cross-border cooperation, knowledge exchange, active community and business engagement, safeguard of biodiversity, and the translation of policy priorities and local and regional strategies into practical and scalable solutions. Their results are closely aligned with the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the European Commission’s emerging EU Strategy for islands and coastal communities, which promote an integrated approach to resilience and long-term development. By addressing interconnected priorities such as environment, energy, economy and governance, these projects provide a strong foundation of practical examples for the Black Sea and beyond.
The total budget of the project is EUR 504.504, of which EUR 454.053 of EU funds.