The Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea are two, very different but interconnected systems. Both are semi-enclosed basins with different main characteristics. On one hand the Mediterranean Sea is a concentration basin, characterised by an active thermohaline conveyor belt due to its frequent ventilation of its, rich in oxygen, deep waters, which are to a large extent responsible for the oligotrophic character of the Sea. On the contrary, the Black Sea has a positive freshwater balance, due to the great inflow of rivers from Central and Eastern Europe . As a result it is a dilution basin, characterized by very high stratification, effective isolation of the deep waters and anoxia deeper than 200 m. The riverine input of nutrients and the high stratification makes the Black Sea a mesotrophic environment, which is also in high contrast to the oligotrophic Mediterranean .

The two seas are connected through the succession of Bosphorus Strait , Marmara Sea and Dardanelles Strait . The connection of the two Seas plays a very significant role taking into account that before the connection, the Black Sea was a fresh water lake with annual renewal and ventilation of its deep layers, while now the deep layers are stagnant and anoxic.

The environmental crisis in the Black Sea resulting from anthropogenic forcing, and accompanied by natural variability and climatic changes, is manifested by dramatic changes in its ecosystem and resources. The fishery yields have declined dramatically with 80% reduction in total catch in the last few years, and only six out of the 26 species of commercially valuable fish of the 1960's remain in exploitable quantities. Irretrievable losses of some significant delta wetlands and their habitats have taken place. Harmful algal blooms (red tides) are frequently observed. Changes in the species composition and community structure of plankton and loss of biodiversity have taken place. The events in the Black Sea could be nature's warning for other regions of the world and as such it is considered to be one of the most sensitive environments in Europe .

The population of the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions has expanded substantially over the last 50 years. Urbanisation, disposal of industrial and domestic wastes, intensive agriculture and animal husbandry, soil degradation, desertification and forest fires are in fact only a few of the many factors which have exerted pressures on the Mediterranean environment, and which now put its integrity at stake. In the Black Sea the situation is even worse as urban and industrial development has led to increased amounts of waste from 17 countries in the rivers and the waters of the Black Sea . In the last 30 years the Black Sea has increasingly attracted the attention of scientists, governments and the public at large as a region suffering ecological deterioration.

Although there is a huge stockpile of historical and contemporary data concerning all aspects of marine research in these two basins, there are also some equally significant gaps. Information from data and databases, both published and unpublished, bibliographies, unpublished reports and grey literature from the several research institutes around these basins have been inaccessible for many years due to linguistic barriers or to the limited publication record or to the lack of dissemination techniques. These largely inactive resources have now been brought to the attention of the world scientific community, and indicate a need for compilation and synthesis of information concerning the links of both regional and global significance between the ecosystems and the physico-chemical characteristics of the basins with the anthropogenic impacts. An integrated approach is the only way to tackle this subject.

The EU’s strong desire to promote sustainable development in the sensitive region of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea was demonstrated through sponsoring of the “International Conference on Sustainable Development of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea Environment”, May 2003, Thessaloniki. This conference acknowledged the need to focusing on the environmental sustainability of both the Black Sea and the Mediterranean and the response that European research will have to new reality of the enlarged Union and its future coastline. The output of this Conference was to set up a permanent platform in all scientific fields linked to sustainable development which will take into consideration the scientific and technological experience of the participating countries, to give credence and momentum and lead to a future project in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea . This platform will link this geographic area and will enhance the scientific, technical and political issues taking into account their unique contrasts and similarities as an interconnected large area. Training and mobility of scientists and technicians was also within the scope of this action.

Greece has undertaken to coordinate the above effort and to define the operational instruments with which to put this dynamic to work.

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