BLUECOAST RESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS_Press release_12.10.2020

BLUECOAST RESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

 Press release / 12.10.2020

With great success the project “Climate-smart practices for blue governance”, Acronym BLUECOAST is reaching its end. The project was funded by the Interreg IPA CBC Cross-Border Cooperation Programme “Greece – Albania 2014 – 2020”. It was coordinated by the Management Agency of Zakynthos National Marine Park and implemented in collaboration with the Decentralized Administration of Peloponnese, Western Greece and the Ionian, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, the Ionian University, the National Coastline Agency of Albania and the Municipality of Himara. Details for the project are available at http://bluecoast-cbc.eu/.

The project had special importance. It was designed to contribute towards the improvement of the management and conservation status of the sea turtle Caretta caretta in the Ionian Sea. It offered links and solutions for the establishment of a cross-border cooperation between Greece and Albania at scientific, governmental and civil society levels within blue governance and EU policy framework in the face of current threats and climatic change effects in the future.

Main outputs of the project include:

– Risk/vulnerability assessment of sea turtle habitats based on current threats and climate change effects

– Long-term conservation monitoring structures and climate-smart mitigation actions and interventions for sea turtle habitats

-Cross-border observatory of sea turtles: sharing of data and expertise, consultancy to decision making

-Engagement of stakeholders and local societies to sea turtle conservation (Blue Cultural Hub)

– Action Plan for the blue governance and EU policy implementation

During the BLUECOAST project:

• 267 citizens and representatives of organisations participated to the e-learning course “Climate change and Blue Growth” which run for two months in English, Greek and Albanian.
• 23 invited speakers from various European institutes and organizations presented their work to the 2-day Open international conference “Climate Change and Blue Growth-New perspectives and trends” with more than 235 attendances
• 183 inspiring entries took place to the BLUE CULTURE Photography Exhibition from concerned citizens and distinguished scientists of national and international organisations. The digital Photography Exhibition can be found here: http://blueculturehub.nmp-zak.org/?phort_post=blue-culture-hub-photo-exhibition
• 449 people were reached during the promotion of the Exhibition initiative
• 800 printed copies of selected photographs are disseminating to various networks and are in permanent exposure in different public locations of Greece and Albania in order to promote environmental awareness for saving life in seas.
• More than 300 people have seen the BLUECOAST documentary which can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcOsnuJOUWU&feature=emb_logo (EN-GR) and here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J56M3aYiAAo&feature=emb_logo (EN-ALB)

The Decentralised Administration of Peloponnese, Western Greece and Ionian through the Ionian Water Department, participating in the BlueCoast project, supports the efforts of the State for the protection of the Environment and Climate Change as a prerequisite for the prosperity of local communities. Through the BLUECOAST project it aims to valorize several plans and methods based on long-term conservation objectives and on climate change adaptation policy as well as to support initiatives of the civil society through the Blue Culture Hub Portal. The Portal was created in order to provide the wider society with the information on current environmental challenges which gradually become more and more part of our daily life as well as with the vision for a transition to a climate-smart society and the achievement of a resilient future for blue growth. More information on the Blue Culture Hub are available at: http://blueculturehub.nmp-zak.org/