The Black Sea is an inland sea with a unique ecosystem and some 300 rivers flow into it. According to research, 70% of all waste and pollutants in it come from the six Black Sea countries - Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. In the north-western part bordering with Ukraine, Romania and partly with Bulgaria waters are shallow and most of the species inhabiting the Black Sea live there. Alas, this ecosystem has been dying because of "over-fertilization." Large rivers that flow into the sea carry increasingly large quantities of phosphates and nitrates - from domestic wastewater, manufacturing and agricultural fertilizers. This causes massive development of phytoplankton. For the past 30 years it has increased more than 10 times.

In the early 90s the six Black Sea countries signed documents related to the water basin - Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea against Pollution, the Odessa Declaration and the Strategic Preservation Plan. Pollution in the Black Sea, however, has not stopped. Therefore the "Green Balkans" Foundation in partnership with the Turkish Foundation for Marine Research have created the Black Sea Watch project. "Support research and preservation of the sea. Each of us can help,” says President of Green Balkans, Dimitar Popov, and adds:

“The main objective of the project is creating tools that are widely available for people to take part in studies of biodiversity in the Black Sea. These are mobile applications and websites that enable any lover of nature or people concerned about it, to record sightings of various species that inhabit the coastal and marine environment. The project is funded by the program ‘Dialogue on Civil Society,’ which is one of the pre-accession programs of the Republic of Turkey.”

The Black Sea Watch app has been active for a few months now and anyone can download it on their mobile phone. A valid email is required for registration. Then you can start shooting various plant and animal species that inhabit the Black Sea regions indicating date, time and location. The administrators of the platform are specialists and would check the photos before they are published on the map.

Part of the initiative includes releasing a children's book in Bulgarian, English and Turkish – a magical story about a girl Merriam who meets Fanny the dolphin. In an entertaining way, it introduces children to the problems and dangers for the inhabitants of the vast underwater world. "Fanny the dolphin shows all these to the children," one of the authors Anelia Pavlova says and continues:

“He starts taking the girl around hoping that when she finds out what the threats to the Black Sea are, she could tell people who can really do something. Suddenly a big dark shadow with very loud sounds starts looming over them and their heads start hurting. These are the sonars of ships that harm dolphins and bigger marine mammals. They hide in an underwater cave, where lights begin to twinkle. Merriam learns about some tiny jellyfish that are very dangerous. She understands that they eat the eggs of fish and came from distant oceans in the ballast water of ships. When small jellyfish eat fish eggs, there is not enough fish left for the dolphins. They continue on their way and find some sprat fish. Because of overfishing fish cannot grow larger and do not have time to reproduce.”

The sea is sick and his self-purification ability can no longer save it from irresponsible human intervention. That is why all help is important - protection of the Black Sea ecosystem depends on us and on enhanced intergovernmental cooperation in this direction.

English: Alexander Markov