Two Bulgarian projects funded by the Interreg NEXT “Black Sea Basin” Programme 2021-2027 have been granted strategic status by the Managing Authority and will be subject to special monitoring and communication measures. These are “Co-Resilience – Cooperation to build community resilience capacity for forest fires and early warning in the Black Sea Basin” and “EfxINNOs: Creating an innovative network for the transfer of marine technologies to improve the transition to a sustainable blue economy in the Black Sea Basin”.

The “Co-Resilience” project is implemented by the Regional Directorate of Fire Safety and Population Protection – Burgas and the Municipality of Kameno. It is aimed at developing transnational cooperation in strategic areas and has good prospects for impact on local economies and people living in both areas. It is planned to develop disaster prevention plans and measures in the event of forest fires in the region. Training will be held for coordination and response in the event of a transboundary fire. With project funds, it is planned to build a Mobile Information and Prevention Center in Moldova, a training center in Istanbul, Turkey, and a fire station in the Odessa region of Ukraine. A joint prevention training program will also be developed and a network of youth volunteers will be built. A "Forest School" will also be created for children, where they will receive special training on the importance and protection of forests. It is also planned to hold an international conference on topics related to forest fires. The total cost of the project is nearly 1.5 million euros. The lead partner is the General Directorate of Forestry of Istanbul - Republic of Turkey.

The goal of the Bulgarian partners is to build a modern building for the fire department in the city of Kameno, where a new fire truck with the ability to be used in non-urbanized territory will be stationed.

More information about the two strategic projects, as well as the other projects in progress, can be found on the program page: https://blacksea-cbc.net/interreg-next-bsb-2021-2027/projects