Participation of the PABSEC International Secretariat in the Black Sea CONNECT Innovation Workshop, interactive session, 2 February 2022
Mr. Miltiadis Makrygiannis, PABSEC Deputy Secretary General attended on 2nd February 2022, the online workshop organized by the Black Sea CONNECT Innovation dedicated to the Blue Economy.
Black Sea CONNECT Innovation Workshop aimed to bring together stakeholders from science and research, policy-making, industry, and business to enhance communication and collaboration for sustainable economic growth in the Black Sea.
Black Sea CONNECT is a key coordination and support action (CSA) which scientifically, technically and logistically supports the broader Black Sea Blue Growth Initiative, supported by the European Commission and composed of country-appointed experts and various national and international organizations.
The aim of the Workshop was to showcase the best practices of formation of a marine and maritime cluster of the Black Sea. The event was kick-started with the high-level representatives from European Commission and continued with the presentation of the overall objectives of the workshop and testimony of the existing maritime clusters. The event's highlight was a session featuring successful stories and best practices from different blue economy sectors, allowing the meeting of nascent maritime and innovation clusters in the Black Sea with more developed European counterparts and driving their collaborative development of blue innovations for the region. Moreover, an interactive panel focused on how the blue economy can be funded in the Black Sea. Special emphasis was given on how BRIDGE-BS (Advancing Black Sea Research and Innovation to Co-Develop Blue Growth within Resilient Ecosystems) and DOORS (Developing Optimal and Open Research Support for the Black Sea), as the two main implementing actions further supporting the Black Sea SRIA, will tackle innovation in the region in the coming years.
Speakers underlined that the Black Sea is a vital resource with vast potential to boost the societal value of the blue economy for its surrounding countries. While the Black Sea is a unique sea basin that is rich in biodiversity, heritage, and natural resources, the basin is increasingly under pressure due mainly to the increasing impacts from human-induced factors, such as eutrophication and hypoxia, overfishing, and the introduction of alien species, in addition to the effects of climate change. In recognition of the importance of these and the significant influence of multistressors on the Black Sea ecosystems and its services, the Burgas Vision Paper (2018), the Common Maritime Agenda (CMA, 2019), and its Science Pillar, the Black Sea Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA, 2019), emphasized the urgent need to identify multiple synergistic stressors (multistressors) interactions impacting ecosystem resilience and prioritized a set of actions for “a healthy, resilient and productive Black Sea by 2030”.