THE REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL MEDCOAST TRAINING PROGRAMME ON:
BEACH MANAGEMENT IN THE BLACK SEA
4 - 6 JULY 1997, VARNA, BULGARIA

Organizers

Background and Objectives to the Training Course:

The stretch of coastline in most countries surrounding the Black Sea, especially in those areas where the most popular recreational beaches are found, is under severe and increasing pressure from rapid urbanization, pollution, recreational and touristic infrastructures and continued development. Additionally, beaches are often economically important areas for all the revenue it can generate from its touristic and recreational exploitation. To fully and competently address coastal and beach management issues, a knowledge of the various factors impinging on this special area of the coast is required.

A skilled beach manager should be conversant with such topics as are coastal and nearshore dynamics and processes, principles of coastal engineering, beach ecology, water quality, patterns ofbeach use by locals and tourists as well as other factors which will, in the long-term, heavily influence and partly determine the fate, not only of the beach itself but also - potentially - of the surrounding coastal and marine environment.

The objective of the series of International Workshop/Training Programmes on Beach Management is to disseminate knowledge and to provide training on coastal zone management issues specific to beaches. The series of courses is aimed at professionals whose work involves aspects of integrated coastal zone management and typically have a wide variety of backgrounds in the natural and social sciences such as including:

In this respect, the first two workshop which were organized by MEDCOAST in cooperation with several institutions in Erice, Sicily (1995), and Gozo, Malta (1996) addressed a variety of topics dealing with coastal management and focused in particular, on the issue of beach management. The resulting intensive but high calibre training course was addressed to a Mediterranean and Black Sea audience involved in various aspects of coastal management.

The positive participant reaction to the Training Courses on Beach Management organized in 1995 and 1996 has led to launching a series of training activities of this area of study. In this connection, coastal change issues are addressed: in particular those processes influencing beach management and related policy making are given priority attention,
 
 

The 1997 Workshop/Training Program (4-6 July 1997, Varna - Bulgaria):

The Training Course on Beach Management was jointly organized by the MEDCOAST Secretariat (Ankara, Turkey) and Bulgarian Coastal Associations (Varna, Bulgaria), the Black Sea Environmental Programme (BSEP) and IOC UNESCO and was held in Varna - Bulgaria.

A total of 13 participants working in diverse areas related to coastal and beach management and coming from different countries bordering the Black Sea areas attended the training course. The participants also took part in the international conference Port - Coast - Environment (PCE 97) (1-3 July 1997) which preceded the training workshop.

The topics discussed during this intensive three-day course included the description and discussion of several beach management issues as well as various beach management guidelines. The varied course structure included lectures, demonstrations, group discussions and a field trip. The participants were expected to make short presentations related to their country's beach amenities and their problems. Discussions of the beach management issues of countries as diverse as Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine, were held as part of the curriculum.
 
 

Course Content:

The intensive three-day course consisted of lectures by invited experts, computer and audio-visual demos, presentations by participants and a half day field trip to developed and undeveloped sandy beaches north of Varna with the aim of demonstrating in practice, principles discussed during the course itself.

The topics discussed included several beach management issues such as beach dynamics, aspects of coastal engineering, dune ecology, water quality, litter, tourism and recreation and various beach management guidelines. The course structure included lectures by invited faculty on the following topics:

During the course, participants also had the opportunity to attend to audio-visual demonstrations as well as to contribute to group discussions on selected topics. Participants were asked to give short presentations related to their country's beach amenities and related problems and a feature of the training course was the participants' presentation on and discussions of the Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Audit procedures relating to beaches for each country represented during the course.
 

Faculty Members:

Lina Anastassova
Bourgas Free University
Faculty of Business Studies
137-A  Alexandrova Str., Box 14
Bourgas 8000, Bulgaria
Tel:
Fax:
E-mail:

Anton Micallef
European Center on Insular Coastal Dynamics
Foundation for International Studies
St. Paul Street, Valletta, Malta
Tel:
Fax:
E-mail:

Allan T. Williams
Centre for Environmental Sciences and Technology
School of Applied Sciences
University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd
Mid Glamorgan, Wales, UK
Tel:
Fax:
E-mail:

Erdal Özhan
Civil Engineering Department
Middle East Technical University
06531, Ankara,  Turkey
Tel:
Fax:
E-mail:

 

Participants List:

Sergey Netrebko
Krasnaya Str. 68
350063 Krasnodar, Russia
E-mail:
Fax:

Esin Çevik
Yıldız Technical University
Civil Engineering Dept., Hydraulic Section,
80750 Yıldız, Turkey
Fax:
E-mail:

Dorina Dragantcheva
Bulgarian Ship Hydrodynamics Center
P.O.Box 58
9003 Varna,  Bulgaria
Fax:

Jale Emekdaş
Ministry of Environment
General Directorate for EIA and Planning
Eskişehir Yolu 8. Km.
06510 Ankara, Turkey
Fax: 286 22 71

Cristina Nenciu
Blv. Mamaia 300
RO-8700, Constanta-3, Romania
Fax:
E-mail:

Claudia Coman
Blv. Mamaia 300
RO-8700, Constanta-3, Romania
Fax:
E-mail:

Danut Diaconeasa
Blv. Mamaia 300
RO-8700, Constanta-3, Romania
Fax:

Marina Krylenko
The Southern Branch of
the P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology
Russian Academy of Sciences
Gelendzhik-7, 353470, Russia
E-mail:

Konstantin Galabov
Min. of Regional Development and Construction
Elemag Str. 15, Bl. 307, App 30
Sofia 1113, Bulgaria
Fax: 

Antonina Doncheva
c/o Konstantin Galabov
Bulgaria
Fax: 
Tel/Fax:

Richard Lisovskiy
Ukrainian Scientific Center of the Ecology of the Sea
89 Frantsuzky Blvd., Odessa 370009, Ukraine
Fax.
E-mail:

Plamena Borissova
Sustainable World Foundation
P.O.Box 1575, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
E-mail:

Esra Kuloğlu
MEDCOAST Secretariat
Middle East Technical University,
06531 Ankara, Turkey