Bucharest Convention

The Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution

A. Introduction

The Black Sea Commission is the regional governing body created to implement the Bucharest Convention signed by the six coastal countries in 1992. On 31st October 1996, the Black Sea countries also signed the first Black Sea Strategic Action Plan for the Rehabilitation and Protection of the Black Sea, later on amended in Sofia in 2009. This plan defines the policy measures, actions, and activities required to achieve the environmental objectives of the Bucharest Convention. The Black Sea Strategic Action Plan recognises that collective action is required from all Black Sea countries to reduce the impact of pollution on the sea’s ecosystems.

B. Overview

Nowadays, the Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution, also known as Bucharest Convention, is one of the most known Regional Sea Conventions and instruments of the International Environmental Law, which was signed and ratified in 1992 and 1994, accordingly, and provided the legal ground for combating pollution from land-based sources and maritime transport, achieving sustainable management of marine living resources and sustainable human development in the Black Sea Region.

It is also the only existing legal instrument in the field of marine environment which has all the Black Sea riparian countries as signatories. There is no doubt that the activities implemented so far by the relevant Convention’ bodies allowed to significantly increase the public involvement, address transboundary environmental issues and to introduce the sound environmental decision-making related to the sustainable use of the resources of the Black Sea.

C. Areas of work

The areas of work of the Black Sea Commission are, inter alia, to monitor and assess pollution, control pollution from land-based sources, ensure conservation of biological diversity, address environmental safety aspects of shipping, address environmental aspects of management of fisheries and other marine living resources and promote integrated coastal zone management and maritime policy.

D. Ongoing projects and programmes 

BSC PS is actively involved as member of Advisory Boards in various projects, such as UE4EMBLAS, EMODNet, BS DOORS, BS BRIDGES, BS CONNECT, BlackSea4Fish, CENOBS, Marine Litter MED, Marsplan-BS II, FORCOAST, ABBIOMED, LitOUTer, MARIAS, GES4SEAS etc.

BSC PS is currently involved into preparation of 3 major projects to be executed in the Black Sea region: World Bank BBSEA Project, Fishery Project implemented by FAO and UNDP-GEF Black Sea LME Project.

E. Partnerships

For the moment, the Black Sea Commission established mutual observer ship relations with 10 international and public organizations. These are:

UNEP, European Commission (EU), GEF/UNDP, and International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR, 1998), Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC, 1992), Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area (ACCOBAMS BSC, 2012b), BSC-Port State Control Memorandum of Understanding, Black Sea NGO Network, and International Maritime Organization (IMO) and NGO Mare Nostrum.
At the moment, bilateral Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) have been entered into by these organizations, as follows:

1. Memorandum of Understanding between ICPDR and Black Sea Commission signed in 2001;
2. Memorandum of Understanding between Black Sea Commission and GFCM signed on 14 May 2012;
3. Memorandum of Understanding between the ACCOBAMS Permanent Secretariat and Black Sea Commission Permanent Secretariat signed on 22 November 2012;
4. Memorandum of Understanding between UNEP/MAP Barcelona Convention signed in February 2016.

F. The Convention and it's related instruments 

Together with Bucharest Convention the four thematic Protocols were signed:

1. Protocol on the Protection of the Black Sea Marine Environment Against Pollution from the Land Based Sources (LBS Protocol);
2. Protocol on the Protection of the Black Sea Marine Environment Against Pollution by Dumping (Dumping Protocol);
3. Protocol on Cooperation in Combating Pollution of the Black Sea Marine Environment by Oil and Other Harmful Substances in Emergency Situations (Emergency Protocol);
4. The Black Sea Biodiversity and Landscape Conservation Protocol (CBD Protocol).

G. Organisational structure

Established in implementation of the Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution, (as defined in Article XVII), the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution (hereafter referred to as the Black Sea Commission or BSC) acts to:

1. Promote the implementation of the Convention and inform the Contracting Parties of its work,
2. Make recommendations on measures necessary for achieving the aims of the Convention,
3. Consider questions relating to the implementation of the Convention and recommend such amendments to the Convention and to the Protocols as may be required, including amendments to Annexes of this Convention and the Protocols,
4. Elaborate criteria pertaining to the prevention, reduction and control of pollution of the marine environment of the Black Sea and to the elimination of the effects of pollution, as well as recommendations on measures to this effect,
5. Promote the adoption by the Contracting Parties of additional measures needed to protect the marine environment of the Black Sea, and to that end receive, process and disseminate to the Contracting Parties relevant scientific, technical and statistical information and promote scientific and technical research and
6. Cooperate with competent international organizations, especially with a view to developing appropriate programs or obtaining assistance in order to achieve the purposes of the Convention.

The Permanent Secretariat of the Black Sea Commission (BSC PS) was established in 2000 to assist the Black Sea Commission on implementation of provisions of the Convention and the Black Sea Strategic Action Plan (BS SAP). The BSC PS is located in Istanbul (Republic of Türkiye).

Being an executive body of BSC, the BSC PS coordinates activities of the Advisory Groups to the Black Sea Commission, which are its main source of expertise, information and support.

There are six Advisory Groups (AG) to the Black Sea Commission:

• AG on Pollution Monitoring and Assessment (PMA);
• AG on Control of Pollution from Land Based Sources (LBS);
• AG on Conservation of Biological Diversity (CBD);
• AG on Environmental Aspects of the Management of Fisheries and other Marine Living Resources (FOMLR);
• AG on Environmental Safety Aspects of Shipping (ESAS);
• AG on Development of Common Methodologies for Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM).

The activities of Advisory Groups are supported by respective Regional Activity Centers (RACs), which were established in accordance with BS SAP 1996 in Black Sea countries as follows: RAC PMA in Ukraine, RAC LBS in Türkiye, RAC CBD in Georgia, RAC FOMLR in Romania, RAS ESAS in Bulgaria and RAC ICZM in the Russian Federation.

H. Achievements

BSC PS serves as a regional data center for environmental and socio-economic data and information collected by the AGs and within the Black Sea Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Program (BSIMAP). It was the BS SAP 1996 that urged the Black Sea Commission to establish the BSIMAP comprised of obligatory national monitoring programs, and an independent quality assurance system.

More precisely the efforts were reflected under a set of measures, introduced by the Strategic Action Plan for the Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation of the Black Sea (BSC, 2009), adopted in 2009 and aimed to replace the previous version of BS SAP adopted in 1996. After the work done on the elaboration of BS SAP 1996 Implementation Report, State of the Black Sea Environment (SoE) Report 1996-2001, Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA, 2008) and BS SAP Gap Analysis 2007, during the Ministerial Conference in Sofia (Bulgaria) in April, 2009, the countries adopted the new version of the BS SAP 2009, which is currently in force. The BS SAP reorganized the priorities and actions, described the policy actions required to meet arising environmental challenges by introduction of a series of management targets.

In 2016 several important documents were adopted, such as the Black Sea Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Program (BSIMAP) for 2017-2022 and indicator-based annual reporting format, as well as with signature of the MoU with our partners from Mediterranean Sea, UNEP/MAP (Barcelona Convention). The adopted BSIMAP foresees harmonization of Ecosystem Quality Objectives reflected in the Black Sea Strategic Action Plan (2009), main document defining implementation of th Bucharest Convention, and the provisions of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD); makes steps to define the Good Environmental Status (GES) for the Black Sea; provides the common lists of indicators and parameters of reporting coordinated with our partners from UNEP, UN FAO General Fisheries Commission for Mediterranean and Black Sea, ACCOBAMS Agreement and the International Commission on the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR).     

 The Black Sea Commission also made significant steps in addressing the issues of marine litter management in the Black Sea. With the help of colleagues from Barcelona Convention the draft of the Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter and Marine Litter Monitoring Guidelines for the Black Sea were elaborated and adopted in 2018. Currently the BSC works with UNEP/MAP on marine litter baselines, preparing regional report on marine litter and dedicated chapter on marine litter to BSIMAP.
 

I. Interesting facts

• The Black Sea is the most isolated from the World Ocean - connected to the Oceans via the Mediterranean Sea through Istanbul, Canakkale (Turk Straits) and Gibraltar straits and with the Sea of Azov in the northeast through the Kerch Strait.
• The Black Sea is considered anoxic at its deeper levels, which means it gets no oxygen below the surface layer.
• The Black Sea is the world's largest meromictic basin. This means that the upper layer of water and lower layer of water exchange very little.
• The Black Sea is home to many small islands with unique ecosystems. These islands belong to three different countries bordering the Black Sea.
• 90% of the lower Black Sea contains no oxygen, making it impossible for life to exist below 200 meters.

J. Website: http://www.blacksea-commission.org 

Contact details

Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution Permanent Secretariat
Maslak MahallesiBüyükdere Caddesi, No 265
(Doğa Koruma ve Milli Parklar 1. Bölge Müdürlüğü Binası, 3. Kat)
34398 Sarıyer
Istanbul, Türkiye
email: secretariat[at]blacksea-commission.org
Tel: +90 212 299 2940 or +90 212 299 2946
Fax: +90 212 299 2944