Control of Eutrophication, Hazardous Substances and Related Measures for Rehabilitating the Black Sea Ecosystem: Phase 1

The long-term objective of the project is to assist the beneficiary countries to take measures to reduce nutrient levels and other hazardous substances to such levels necessary to permit Black Sea ecosystems to recover to similar conditions as those observed in the 1960s. This will be achieved through a process of adaptive management in which agreed common targets are pursued throughout the 17 country Black Sea Basin. The present project will assist the coastal countries to meet the agreed first target (maintenance of nutrient loads at their 1997 levels) and to set the subsequent target using the best available scientific information coupled with benefit/cost studies and political pragmatism. The current project will also help to reduce fisheries pressure on sensitive habitats and contribute towards rational fisheries management. Major outputs will include a sustainable coordinating and consultative mechanism (with all 17 Basin countries); revision of the legal protocols governing management of pollution and resource use in the Black Sea; new sectoral policies and laws to be implemented nationally in each coastal State; objective State of the Black Sea reports including new information gathered from remote sensing and conventional measurements; a comprehensive system of indicators of process, stress reduction and environmental status; enhanced public participation, partly through a region-wide programme of small projects for nutrient control and support to environmental NGOs; enhanced economic instruments tailored to the realities of each coastal country; a new portfolio of investment projects; and a rational agreement on fisheries management that takes full account of the conditions necessary for habitat recovery. This component of GEF Danube/Black Sea Strategic Partnership covers the Black Sea and its coastal zone and those river basins not included within the Danube or Dnipro GEF projects. The three projects, together with the World Bank/GEF Partnership Investment Facility for Nutrient Reduction will coordinate their activities closely through regular joint planning sessions and consultations. The Strategic Partnership represents an innovation in project design that should be replicable in other regions and enhances the global benefits of the constituent projects.