flickr photo courtesy of Jarosław Pocztarski

International Black Sea Action Day is a regional event designed to assist all Black Sea countries and coastal communities in celebrating their shared marine environment. Its main objective is to promote the urgent need for greater regional cooperation against the threats facing the Black Sea, and raise public awareness of these threats, ranging from pollution and poorly regulated fishing to unsustainable coastal development.

It all started in 1992 when the The Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution (also known as the Bucharest Convention) was signed at Bucharest by Romania, Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and Turkey. This is the basic framework of agreement and three specific Protocols:

• the control of land-based sources of pollution;
• dumping of waste; and
• joint action in the case of accidents (such as oil spills).

After 4 more years, on  October 31st 1996 the Black Sea countries signed also the Black Sea Strategic Action Plan for the Rehabilitation and Protection of the Black Sea. This plan defined the policy measures, actions, and timetables required to achieve the environmental objectives of the Bucharest Convention.

Black Sea Action Day 2009 (held in Turkey) commemorates the anniversary of the signature of the Black Sea Strategic Action Plan.

• The promise of a better future for the 16 million people from six countries dwelling on the shores.
• The commitment of the regional governments for serious action to make a real difference to the rehabilitation and recovery of the sea.
• The dedicated lifework of many people who devote their time and energy to help protect the environment.

flickr photo courtesy of Argenberg

Related Projects in Romania

1. Water and Waste Management for small rural communities Under this huge programme, 13 projects are being implemented in the water sector. The objectives of these projects are to increase access to reliable water supply, improve water quantities and qualities, reduce water leakage and unaccounted for water.


2. Transfer of Environmentally Sound Technologies (TEST) to Reduce Transboundary Pollution in the Danube River Basin The objective of the TEST project was to build capacity of the national institutions in the five selected Danubian countries in integrated environmental management (TEST integrated approach) for the Transfer of Environmentally Sound Technology. The TEST approach has been introduced at selected industrial hot spots to demonstrate that it is possible to comply with environmental norms of the Danube River Protection Convention while at the same time taking into account the needs to remain competitive and to deal with the social consequences of major technology upgrading.


3. Tisza community-led demonstration regional project for sustainable development and integrated land and water management The project is an integral part of the GEF- Mid-Size Project “Establishment of Mechanisms for Integrated Land and Water Management in the Tisza River Basin”. This pilot and demonstration component will aim at developing, implementation and evaluation of a transboundary community-led project that promotes sustainable development through integrated land and water management practices at the community level.


4. Sustainable Development for the Community from the Dorman Creek Valley, Romania The overall goal of the project is the improvement of ecological state of the Dorman creek through empowerment and training of the local community. To achieve the overall goal, the aim is to strengthen the capacity of the local community and promote active involvement in the realization of this project. There will be a series of trainings held in the field of volunteering, capacity building, empowering of the local community to engage itself actively in the process of sustainable development.


5. Strengthening the Implementation Capacities for Nutrient Reduction and Transboundary Cooperation in the Danube River Basin The long-term development objective of the proposed Regional Project is to contribute to sustainable human development in the DRB and the wider Black Sea area through reinforcing the capacities of the participating countries in developing effective mechanisms for regional cooperation and coordination in order to ensure protection of international waters, sustainable management of natural resources and biodiversity.


6. Romania - United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – Strengthening Water Users Associations Water user associations are important to IWRM as an alternative to centralized approach to water resources management. USAID has provided funding, technical assistance and training to a project developing and strengthening the associations, which will be a critical component of restructuring the country’s irrigation systems and increasing irrigation efficiency through farmer participation and on-demand water delivery.


7. Integrating multiple benefits of wetlands and floodplains in to a trans-boundary management plan for the Tisza River Basin The Tisza River Basin is the largest tributary of the Danube River and includes part of the territory of Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Serbia. Over the last 150 years the basin has been subject to significant anthropogenic impacts that have resulted in a significantly degraded system, particularly in terms of pollution and the loss of floodplains and wetlands. The countries of the basin have requested support to develop an integrated strategy for water quality and water quantity that is incremental to the current work and to implement demonstration projects that test the multiple environmental benefits of wetlands to mitigate impacts of floods and droughts and help to reduce nutrient pollution.



flickr photo courtesy of marinephotobank



8. Integrated Management and Conservation of the Mara Basin Reversing the Water Degradation in the Romanian Transboundary Region of the Upper Tisza, Romania The aim of the project is to contribute to the protection of international waters in the Upper Tisza catchments, focusing on the integrated management of natural resources in Mara tributary river basin.
   The objectives are:
   • Restoration and control of ecological degradation of aquatic habitats that sustain biodiversity;
   • Development of income-generating activities, finally contributing to the protection of waters (ecotourism);
   • Community empowering targeting the reduction of pollutant charges in international waters.


9. Garla Mare – Salcia – a double role wetland: biodiversity conservation and nitrate pollution filtration, Romania The project aims to protect a very valuable area for its biodiversity – the wetland/ nature reserve Garla mare – Salcia, which represents one of the last remaining natural areas of the Green Corridor of the Danube. The project promotes nature conservation activities in a rural development context of the local communities (Salcia, Gârla Mare, Vrata si Pristol – Mehedinti County) that are settled near the protected area.


10. Control of eutrophication, hazardous substances and related measures for rehabilitating the Black Sea ecosystem The project (BSERP) supports regional aspects of nutrient control in the Black Sea coastal countries. It also aims to strengthen the role of the Black Sea Commission to ensure the formulation, adoption, and implementation of a suite of harmonized legal and policy instruments for tackling the problem of eutrophication and release of certain hazardous substances; and to facilitate ecosystem recovery, including through sustainable use of living marine resources.


11. Capacity and Community Building for Industrial Water Stewardship in the Danube/Black Sea region The project involves community building & stakeholder involvement activities around Coca Cola bottling companies, targeted training on BAT, ISO 14,000 and other Cleaner production methodologies, P/R and outreach on efficient industrial water & energy management.


12. A public-private partnership to fix a water supply system in Medjidia. The project represents a real public-private partnership (PPP) on infrastructure rehabilitation under UNDP’s Local Agenda 21 project in Romania and has the following main components: construction and operation of drinking water treatment station; construction and operation of a new wastewater treatment plant; extension of the water supply/sewage service; rehabilitation of the existing piping network.


13. A Practical Model for a Sustainable Development of the Rural Communities along the Green Corridor of the Danube River The general objective of the project is to decrease the volume of nutrients and other pollutants generated from agriculture and reaching the Danube River, by using environment friendly agricultural practices.

flickr photo courtesy of jalnic

There are more projects than the 13th listed here and all the other Black Sea countries have their own share, too. Theory sounds challenging, yet really good. In practice, some of these projects are long term or ongoing, some others have partially been implemented. Oil spills and other related ecological accidents still happen.

For all that's been done and the sustainable projects to follow, I raise a glass to Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and Turkey. Happy Black Sea Action Day!

For everybody else, Happy Halloween!

Further readings and references:

* The Black Sea Comission
* Black Sea NGO Network
* International Black Sea Day