CIER was funded in Constanţa, in 1995, with the support of PHARE and TACIS programmes of the European Union. The Centre had the mission to determine an integrated approach of the problems of the Danube, the Danube Delta and the Black Sea and also to promote the best practices regarding the conservation and sustainable use of the Black Sea resources.
The objectives of CIER: to improve the ecological education activities in schools, to raise the information level regarding the problems of the marine ecosystem, to increase the efficiency of environmental protection actions by ensuring the support resources and coordination, as well as to increase the institutional capacity of local NGO’s by ensuring resources and training.
CIER functioned in partnership with Romanian and international organizations, such as: the British Embassy in Romania, VSO, National Institute for Marine Research and Development “Grigore Antipa”, the Chamber of Commerce Constanţa. Among the beneficiaries of CIER were: educational institutions, NGO’s, companies, local authorities, governmental agencies, the media, the tourism industry.