Bridging regional marine conservation with global climate diplomacy, the KTU Faculty of Marine Sciences has established a strategic collaboration framework with COP31, amplifying the vital link between healthy marine ecosystems and climate resilience.

As climate change accelerates and places unprecedented pressures on aquatic ecosystems, global platforms like the UN Climate Change Conference (COP) play a defining role in shaping environmental policy. Within this context, the BIOBLACK Project (Raising Awareness for the Black Sea People to Recognize and Protect Black Sea Biodiversity) and WatchReefFish Project (Non-Invasive Fish Monitoring Network for Reef Fishes in the Black Sea Basin), co-funded by the European Union under the Interreg NEXT Black Sea Basin Programme, has officially joined forces with COP31 initiatives.

Led by Karadeniz Technical University (KTÜ) in partnership with international projects partnership is scaling up its impact. This collaboration integrates regional findings such as marine litter assessments, alien invasive species data, and community-driven educational models like 3D marine food pyramids into broader international climate dialogues. In the training, project pioneered by KTU FMS is introduced such as LitOUTer, IASON, BlackNETs, IASON+, BIOBLACK and WatchReefFish projects.