The Water Institute of the Republic of Slovenia, as the lead partner of the BALMAS Project (Ballast Water Management System for the Protection of the Adriatic Sea / Ballast Water Management System for the Protection of the Adriatic Sea), organised and chaired the BALMAS Project Final Conference, which took place on 21 and 22 September 2016 at the Piran Marine Biology Station. The conference was attended by 13 project partners from six Adriatic countries: Slovenia, Italy, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania. Associated partners from the individual countries and numerous stakeholders also attended the conference. Opening addresses were given by the Minister for the Environment and Spatial Planning, Ms Irena Majcen; the Deputy Director of the Water Research Institute of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Meta Gorišek; and the BALMAS Project Coordinator, Dr Andreja Popit. Dr Mitja Bricelj, Secretary at the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning, also addressed those present.
At the BALMAS Project Final Conference, we presented the main achievements of the BALMAS Project, such as: the results of analyses of the baseline condition of the marine environment, its monitoring and ballast water sampling at twelve Adriatic ports, the BALMAS GIS application, a comprehensive electronic system to support decision-making on the management of ship ballast water in the Adriatic Sea, the comprehensive implementation plan for the management of ship ballast water in the Adriatic Sea; and the Strategy for the Management of Ship Ballast Water in the Adriatic Sea. We discussed the next steps for the Adriatic countries regarding the implementation of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, which would be based on the regional approach used in the BALMAS Project, and on the possibilities for the long-term implementation of the BALMAS Ballast Water Management System on the basis of agreements between the Adriatic states.