Middle East Technical University (METU) actively collaborates with local, regional, national, and global government bodies to advance water security, combat aquatic pollution, and restore marine and freshwater ecosystems. Coordinated through the METU Institute of Marine Sciences (METU IMS / ODTÜ DBE) and the METU Center for Climate Change and Sustainable Development (METU CLIMATE / ODTÜ İKLİM), the university engages across four distinct tiers of governance:

1. Four-Tier Multi-Level Governance Collaboration Framework

• Local Cooperation: METU CLIMATE and METU IMS actively partner with local governments, municipalities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and primary/secondary schools to deliver year-round marine and climate awareness education. Targeting youth aged 6–18 (with special outreach to schools in socio-economically disadvantaged regions), these collaborative workshops—supported through TÜBİTAK 4004, EU Erasmus+, and Horizon Europe—focus on sustainable water resource usage, climate impacts on aquatic ecosystems, and marine protection. Trainings are conducted continuously at the METU Erdemli Campus and the METU CLIMATE Center.

         https://iklim.metu.edu.tr/tr/farkindalik-egitimleri

• Regional Cooperation : METU coordinates the Marmara Sea Integrated Modeling System (MARMOD Phase III) Project (July 2024 – December 2025). Designed to implement the Marmara Sea Integrated Strategic Plan, MARMOD Phase III establishes a 3D Digital Twin and Decision Support System (DSS) to model water quality, climate projections, and pollution reduction scenarios for the entire regional sea basin.

         https://marmod.ims.metu.edu.tr/marmod-faz-iii/

• National Cooperation : Executed under the leadership of the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, all real-time water quality data, oceanographic observations, and MARMOD modeling outputs directly feed into the Ministry's Continuous Monitoring Center (SİM) ([https://sim.csb.gov.tr/](https://sim.csb.gov.tr/)). Additionally, METU cooperates with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on national sub-basin protection action plans.

          https://marmod.ims.metu.edu.tr/marmod-faz-iii/

• Global Cooperation : METU plays a key role in the EU Horizon Europe BlueMissionMed Coordination and Support Action (CSA). Aligned with the EU Mission "Restore Our Oceans and Waters by 2030", BlueMissionMed mobilizes policy, research, business, and civil society actors across the Mediterranean basin to prevent and eliminate aquatic pollution, structure a basin-scale innovation ecosystem, and upscale water security solutions.                                        https://bluemissionmed.eu/#about