Observers

EU (Represented by the EC, DG Environment) - The Environment Directorate General is one of the 36 Directorates General and specialized services which make up the European Commission , serving to initiate and define new environmental legislation and ensure that measures are implemented by member states. (observer status granted at 7th Regular Meeting, 29-31 May 2001)

GEF/UNDP - Global Environmental Facility/United Nations Development Programme. (observer status granted at 7th Regular Meeting, 29-31 May 2001)

UNEP - United Nations Environmental Programme (granted observer status at 8th Regular BSC Meeting, 18-19 February 2002)

ICPDR - International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River. (observer status granted at 7th Regular Meeting, 29-31 May 2001)

BSEC - Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. (observer status granted at 7th Regular Meeting, 29-31 May 2001) [speech by Prof. Ahmet Kideys, Executive Director, at BSEC Ministerial Conference, Sofia, 28 May 2010]

ACCOBAMS - Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area (granted observer status at 8th Regular BSC Meeting, 18-19 February 2002)

BSC-PSC Memorandum of Understanding - signed and enforced by all Black Sea countries, the PSC MOU and the BSC have granted each other observerstatus.(observer status granted at 7th Regular Meeting, 29-31 May 2001)

BS NGO Network - The Black Sea NGO Network (observer status granted at 7th Regular Meeting, 29-31 May 2001)

Projects & Partners

MONINFO - "Environmental Monitoring of the Black Sea Basin: Monitoring and Information Systems for Reducing Oil Pollution" Project. [online documents]

ECBSEA Project - Environmental Collaboration for the Black Sea Project (archived web page)

EnviroGRIDS - "Building Capacity for a Black Sea Catchment Observation and Assessment System supporting Sustainable Development" Project (2009-2013).  [Project Article]

Pegaso Project - Coastal & Maritime Research. [Project Factsheet]

UP-GRADE BS-SCENE - "UP-GRADE Black Sea Scientific Network" Project (2009-2012).

CASPINFO - "Caspian environmental and industrial data and information service (2008-2011). [CASPINFO - Poster]  [CASPINFO - Poster, Russian]

SESAME - "Southern European Seas : Assessing and Modelling Ecosystem changes" Project.

GEF BSERP - The Black Sea Ecosystems Recovery Project (Completed in April 2008)

TACIS - The TACIS Programme

EEA - European Environment Agency

DABLAS - the DAnube / BLAck Sea Task Force, official site/ activities of the BSC

EC Supported "Environmental Collaboration for the Black Sea" Project

KnowSeas - Knowledge-based Sustainable Management for Europe's Seas [FP7 site][Project Site] [BSC contribution]

EU-project HYPOX: oxygen monitoring in aquatic ecosystems[more info ] [HYPOX factsheet] [Project Brochure] [Contact: ]

Black Sea Scientific Network - Development of a Mnemiopsis Leydyi database

MEECE - Marine Ecosystem Evolution in a Changing Environment

MONINFOEnvironmental Monitoring of the Black Sea Basin: Monitoring and Information Systems for Reducing Oil Pollution (MONINFO)

is a 2 years (2009 – 2010) project, approved by the European Parliament (EP) and funded by the European Commission (EC). The need for such a project was brought to the attention of EP and EC DG Environment by the member of the European Parliament Ms. Marusya Lyubcheva.

Beneficiaries: The project is implemented by the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea against Pollution (BSC) and beneficiaries are all riparian Black Sea countries.

Advisory Board: The BSC will work in this project in close cooperation with EC DGs, JRC, EMSA, EEA, IMO, HELCOM, REMPEC, OSPRI etc. All these organization will be invited to be represented in the Advisory Board of the project.

Why is this project needed?

Since the ratification of the Bucharest Convent by 1994, a substantial increase in sea-borne transportation of not only general goods and passengers, but also raw oil and refined petroleum products has taken place and is predicted to continue in the near future. This increase in sea-borne transportation enhances the risk of serious accidents at sea that could have dramatic impacts on the fragile marine environment of the Black Sea and the livelihood of the people living around it.

This increasing risk calls for the coastal states of the Black Sea to address the issue and urgently consider political, legal and operational initiatives that can improve the existing national and regional capacity on oil spill preparedness, response and co-operation.

A regional mechanism for exchange and dissemination of data and information related to shipping traffic, movement of oil & oil products, ongoing and future activities related to oil production, storage and transportation combined with up-to-date information on preparedness and response to oil spills would greatly reduce the risk of oil spills and its impact in the Black Sea region.

What is the usefulness of the project?

In accordance with the principles of prevention and precaution, action should be taken at several stages of the process:

1. Provision of safe oil transport /port operations in the area
2. Monitoring maritime traffic and in particular polluting ships
3. EIA in transboundary aspect for new energy projects
4. Port Reception Facilities

If operational or accidental pollution occurs, the Black Sea states will also need to use the best available information and practices, on the following domains:

1. Response in emergency situations in a general framework for contingency planning and
2. Environmental impact of pollution by oil,

Exercises/Training/Capacity building are also necessary in the Black Sea region on a regular basWhat is furthermore needed in the Black Sea region is a co-operation model of how to link science, management and industry to implement strategies assuring safe oil transfer, and where necessary of assessment preparedness and response in relation to oil pollution. One important element for the deployment of such a model is improved monitoring and also overview, availability and accessibility of data & information on marine environment, industrial activities and hereto related legal and policy frameworks.

Importance of the project for the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution

In the related Protocol to the Bucharest Convention on Co-operation in Combating Pollution of the Black Sea Marine Environment by Oil and other Harmful Substances in Emergency Situations (the Emergency Protocol) the Black Sea countries firmly expressed their political will and legally committed themselves to initiate, both individually and jointly, the actions required in order to effectively prepare for and respond to marine pollution related to oil incidents.

The oil spills pollution is recognized as one of the major threats to the marine environment of the Black Sea in the Strategic Action Plan (SAP) adopted in 1996 as well as in the revised draft SAP. These two documents state that the risk associated with heavy shipping traffic /platforms/offshore installations/refineries/oil terminals/ports/pipelines calls for: (a) development of national emergency preparedness and response systems and their coordination at the regional level, (b) improvement of the communication between the private sector and the policy makers and scientists, (c) improvement/development of the Black Sea Information System (BSIS),  (Black Sea Information System - ESAS - Environmental Safety Aspects of Shipping- component) including  support data sets within the oil industries, private companies dealing with EIA in this particular field  (d) archiving the assessments, and contributions in data, evaluations and measures of the marine environmental institutes, e) advancement of surveillance at sea and inspections in ports, g) enlargement of port reception facilities capacity, and the last but not least h) further development of legal and policy documents, strengthening enforcement and development of common systems of penalties and claims management for  pollution damages compensation (the common framework for oil tanker spills compensation, through CLC and Fund Conventions and ratifying the Bunker Convention for general shipping related oil spill claims).

The gaps in information about the Black Sea region include the lack of recent assessment of oil pollution coming from Land-Based Sources (LBS), rivers and illegal discharges (last figures refer to 1995-2000) and the lack of real time information on proper operational monitoring and contact responsible institutions for in situ sampling agreed in cases of accidents. Hot spots for oil pollution urgently need to be identified and carefully monitored for their impact on the environment. The region does not have an agreed adequate system for monitoring of accidental pollution.  

This project will allow to gain the needed experience in working with information systems for improved management, to transfer lessons learned from other regions to the Black Sea, as well as to improve the cooperation of the BSC with the private sector and to populate the system with quality controlled data.

Objectives

The project should enable the coastal states to better prevent and respond to operational/accidental/illegal oil pollution. Once this project is finished, in the long run and throughout the entire Black Sea region, the competent authorities of coastal states should be in a better position to:

1. improve the safety of oil transfer in a way that diminishes and mitigates the risk of oil spill accidents and emergency situations;
2. collect and access information on the oil pollution and environmental impact by oil and oil derivatives on the Black Sea marine ecosystem during operational and accidental pollution based on in situ sampling, aerial surveillance, and satellite imagery;
3. improve the exchange of oil-related information in the region;
4. update and improve national and regional contingency plans for oil pollution;
5. efficiently respond to any oil spill accident or emergency situation, individually and, in particular, through bilateral cooperation or within the framework of regional actions, allocating responsibilities and competences to relevant institutions and building upon existing structures, such as the OPRC Convention, the BSC and the European Community Civil Protection Mechanism;
6. perform risk and impact assessments;
7. reduce and eventually eliminate illegal discharges of ship-generated wastes in the Black Sea;
8. increase public awareness of environmental concerns and need to protect the Black Sea from oil pollution;
9. achieve good environmental status through reduction/elimination of oil pollution in the Black Sea.

Within this long term policy approach, and in support of decision making toward reduction/elimination of oil pollution in the Black Sea, the project will pursue the following objectives:

Improved information system for combating oil pollution
• Enhanced monitoring system of operational and accidental pollution
• Enhanced response capabilities, including risk management and emergency preparedness planning

Coastal & Maritime Research - PEGASO See project brochure

THE CHALLENGE

Many efforts have been deployed for developing Integrated Coastal Zone Management in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Both basins have, and continue to suffer severe environmental degradation. In many areas this has led to unsustainable trends which have impacted on economic activities and human well being. An important progress has been made with the launch of the ICZM Protocol for the Mediterranean Sea in January 2008. The ICZM Protocol offers, for the first time in the Mediterranean, an opportunity to work in a new way, and a model that can be used as a basis for solving similar problems elsewhere, such as in the Back Sea. PEGASO is consistent with the frameworks of the Barcelona and Bucharest Conventions which seek to achieve a coordinated approach to sustainable resource management and development, and to protect these regional seas and the quality of life of their peoples. It also continues ICZM efforts, supporting new marine and maritime policies.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

The main objective of PEGASO is to build on existing capacities and develop common novel approaches to support integrated policies for the coastal, marine and maritime realms of the Mediterranean and Black Sea Basins in ways that are consistent with and relevant to the implementation of the ICZM Protocol for the Mediterranean.

METHODOLOGY

PEGASO will use the model of the existing ICZM Protocol for the Mediterranean and adjust it to the needs of the Black Sea through three innovative actions: -Constructing an ICZM governance platform as a bridge between scientist and end-user communities, going far beyond a conventional bridging. The building of a shared scientific and end users platform is at the heart of our proposal linked with new models of governance.

• Refine and further develop efficient and easy to use tools for making sustainability assessments in the coastal zone (indicators, Accounting methods and models, scenarios). They will be tested and validated in a multi-scale approach for integrated regional assessment.
• Implementation of a Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI), following INSPIRE Directive, to organize and standardize spatial data to support information sharing on an interactive visor, to make it available to the ICZM Platform, and to disseminate all results of the project to all interested parties.

CONCEPTUAL OUTLINE OF PEGASO GOVERNANCE PLATFORM

EXPECTED RESULTS

POLICY	Identifying commen or complementary issues	PEGASO Contribution
EU ICZM Recommendation (2002-2007)	Already deals with land and its interface to the sea	Review of the set of ICZM indicators
ICZM Protocol for the Mediterranean	Modern policy and binding: linkages with ecosystem approach, maritime activities, spatial planning at land and sea, climate change impacts and risks, socioeconomic development, cultural identity, and their relationship to the sustainable development of the coast	Update of the ICZM indicators to measure sustainable development of the coast and building of an indicator of progress in ICZM Stocktaking to know how countries are prepared for implementation Governance Platform, sustainability tools and SDI
Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development	Link with the Mediterranean Action Plan and the ICZM Protocol	Design and implementation of indicators for sustainable development
Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)	Ecosystem based, look for sea ecosystem	Gathering sea bed maps Developing a spatial indicator for "ecological potential" Measuring impacts from some maritime activities
Maritime Spatial Planning	Linked to ICZM. Key instrument for MSFD. MSP is used in some countries to implement MSFD (i.e. measuring impacts on ecosystems)	Stocktaking of maritime activities and future scenarios Identification and assessment of cumulative impacts on key spaces Participative decision making for spatial maritime planning
Climate change adaptation (EU Green Paper)	Impacts of climate change on costal settlements, activities and maritime uses Adaptative responses needed	Methodology for the vulnerability and risk assessment in coastal zones Guidelines for adaptation and mitigation strategies
Halting biodiversity loss by 2010	SEBI 2010 indicators for the coast and sea	Implementing the relevant SEBI indicators in the Mediterranean and Black Sea
Habitat Directives and Bird Directive	-Natura 2000 sites aims to protect habitats and species, included birds -National designation sites	Accounting for biodiversity loss in wetlands, islands and Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Urban impacts and intensive agriculture impacts on designated sites
WFD	Water and ecosystem quality standards	Development of indicators Development of land-sea scenarios on water and ecosystem quality
Fisheries (specially ecosystem based management)	Relation between fisheries, water quality and seascapes Special emphasis will be put on aquaculture practices.	Spatial integrated indicators and assessment on this issue Accounting ecosystem services such as aquaculture
Horizon2020	Stop pollution in the Med in 2020	Mapping of urban growth and scenarios Water use and management
SEA Directive	Plans and projects need a specific impact assessment to avoid degradation of landscape and ecosystems.	Development of impact indicators Identification of main future threats and priorities to mitigate them or to adapt Producing tools to be used in assessments
Cohesion Funds	Requires a clear vision of what is needed where, and a sustainability assessment to make a robust follow up of actions and investments.	Identify most vulnerable areas and issues for funding Identification of potentialities to be developed