Center for Coastal & Marine Studies
A COASTAL SCENIC BEAUTY AND SENSITIVITY ASSESSMENT OF BULGARIA: MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS FOR NATURAL AND HUMAN PRESSURE AT MOST ATTRACTIVE SITES
A coastal field trip was recently carried out along the 432 km Bulgarian Black Sea coast focused to determine scenic sensitivity to natural processes and human pressure. In total, 16 sites respectively located in Burgas (9), Varna (3) and Dobrich (4) districts were field-tested during May and June (2021). The study was performed in collaboration between University of Cadiz and Center for Coastal and Marine Studies under a Ph.D. project: “Sensitive coastal beauty: an innovative approach to assess scenic sensibility to human and natural processes, in a Climate Change context, at very attractive sites along the coasts of Italy, Balearic Islands (Spain), Northern France and Bulgaria”.
The field trip was conducted by Alexis Mooser, PhD student in Environmental Phenomena and Risks Program (Universities of Parthenope and Cadiz), Parthenope University of Naples, Italy and University of Cadiz, Spain. CCMS experts Dr. Margarita Stancheva and Dr. Hristo Stanchev took active participation in the field trip in particular along the North Bulgarian coast.
MARSPLAN-BS II IS PART OF THE NEW VIDEO ON MSP ACROSS EUROPE - 5 projects supported by EMFF
MSP in Europe is an ambitious and collaborative project involving Member states, administrations, research institutions, industries and society as a whole. MSP means cooperating across borders and sectors for a smart, sustainable, productive, and fair use of the maritime space.
In the context of the emergence of the first national maritime spatial plans presented by Member states in 2021, the European MSP Assistance Mechanism has produced a six minute video clip introducing five representative projects in different European maritime basins, supported by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) (2014-2020).
The MARSPLAN-BS II project, supporting the MSP process in Bulgaria and Romania, is therefore an important leverage to sustainable Blue economy, applying the Multi-Use (MU) concept and proposing a methodology for analysis and integration of Land-Sea Interactions (LSI) in MSP.
World Sand Dune Day - 2021
The first World Sand Dune Day will be marked in June this year to highlight the importance of conserving these vital coastal habitats around the world.
The day of celebration will take place on 25 June 2021 and has been established by the Sands of LIFE and Dynamic Dunescapes projects - two initiatives dedicated to protecting sand dunes in England and Wales and the wildlife that depend upon them.
Healthy dunes provide habitats for a wealth of rare and specialised wildlife. These include a range of wildflowers, bryophytes, invertebrates and insects which require bare sand habitat to survive.
Coastal sand dunes and the surrounding landscapes also provide important recreational spaces for communities through connection with nature and providing links to cultural heritage and celebrated historic sites.
Over the last 80 years, open sand has largely disappeared from sand dunes, replaced by dense grass and scrub. This change has been caused by factors such as the introduction of non-native plants, lower levels of grazing, climate change and air pollution. As the dunes have become more stable and overgrown, rare wildlife has declined.
Find more info here!
COASTS FOR KIDS-2021: A series of educational videos about the coast, for children, and also adults!
Led by our colleague Irene Delgado-Fernandez, coastal geomorphologist (Edge Hill University, UK), this series has resulted in a wonderful contribution to environmental education on the coast.
Coasts for Kids is a collaborative experience between children and their parents, coastal scientists, community artists, teachers, animators and coastal managers. The series is aimed at kids aged 6 and over. It includes important concepts in coastal processes and coastal evolution in Episodes 1, 2 and 3, followed up by analyses of human impacts in Episode 4 and management actions in Episode 5.
The series (trailer + 5 episodes) are ready for free download, and this will be communicated in Youtube Channel and via twitter/online networks (@IreneDelgadoFe2).