The Black Sea NGO Network with support of partners from Greece, Greece, Georgia, Romania and Ukraine hosted the RESPONSE Regional Consultation Workshop in Varna, Bulgaria on 19 – 20 May 2026.

The partners involved interested stakeholders from the Black Sea region in the review and assessment of the RESPONSE training activities and the draft Regional Action Plan for Capacity Building on Marine Pollution Emergency Preparedness and Response prepared in the project framework.

 

 

 

The workshop applied the World Café method to engage the participants in a structured discussion aiming to provide critical input to the Regional Action Plan, one of the RESPONSE major achievements. The results of these discussions have been compiled into a review of ideas and recommendations to further help the process of driving sustainable institutional participation.

The stakeholders were further engaged in an interactive discussion about the conditions and actions necessary to achieve the RESPONSE project objectives contributing to the implementation of European policies for the protection of the Black Sea and the marine environment.

 

 

 

On 21 May 2026 the participants had the opportunity to visit the area of Burgas and the adjacent island of St. Anastasia. The city will host the Black Sea CMA Stakeholder Conference 2026, at which the project will be presented.

RESPONSE has applied innovative training approaches on marine pollution preparedness and response and consistently supported regional cooperation in the field of monitoring and management of marine pollution in the Black Sea.