Black Sea

Legal Basis:

In 1992, the riparian states of the Black Sea participated in the Diplomatic Conference on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution. Out of this conference came the Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution (the “Bucharest Convention”)—the primary legal document that comprises the regional framework for the environmental protection of the Black Sea. In addition to the Bucharest Convention itself (which went into effect on 15 January 1994), there are four protocols and five resolutions. i) Protocols

  • Protocol on Protection of the Black Sea Marine Environment Against Pollution From Land Based Sources (“LBS Protocol”);
  • Protocol on Cooperation in Combating Pollution of the Black Sea Marine Environment by Oil and other Harmful Substances in Emergency Situations;
  • Protocol on the Protection of the Black Sea Marine Environment Against Pollution by Dumping; and
  • Protocol on Black Sea Biodiversity and Landscape Conservation (“Biodiversity Protocol”) (which has not yet been ratified by all of the Contracting Parties).
ii) Resolutions

  • Resolution 1: Elaboration of a Protocol concerning transboundary movement of hazardous wastes and cooperation in combating illegal traffic thereof;
  • Resolution 2: Establishment of cooperation with Danube States for promoting the objectives of the Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution;
  • Resolution 3: Cooperation with intergovernmental organizations;
  • Resolution 4: Institutional arrangements related to the Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea against Pollution; and
  • Resolution 5: Initiation of action within the International Maritime Organization concerning prevention of pollution from ships which belong to countries not signatory to the Convention.
The Bucharest Convention established a Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution (the “Commission”) to help realize the goals articulated in the Bucharest Convention and its Protocols.
Member States:

The Contracting Parties to the Bucharest Convention are Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. These countries represent all of the Black Sea riparian states.
Geographical Scope:

The Commission has a specific mandate to promote the implementation of the Bucharest Convention for the protection of the Black Sea, which is located in southeast Europe. The Bucharest Convention applies to the Black Sea proper (including the territorial sea and exclusive economic zones of the Contracting Parties). There is no authority over inland waterways that may have an effect on the Black Sea. However, the revised LBS Protocol and the Biodiversity Protocol have a different geographical scope.
Legal Personality:

The Commission is granted “such legal capacity as may be necessary for the exercise of its functions.” The Bucharest Convention also called for the creation of a permanent Secretariat to be established to assist the Commission in attaining the goals of the Bucharest Convention.
Functions:

Under Article XVIII of the Bucharest Convention, the functions of the Commission are to:
  • Promote the implementation of the Bucharest Convention;
  • Make recommendations on measures needed to achieve the goals of the Bucharest Convention;
  • Recommend amendments to the Bucharest Convention and to the Protocols;
  • Elaborate criteria concerning the prevention, reduction, and control of pollution in the marine environment, and recommend measures to achieve this;
  • Promote the adoption by the Contracting Parties of additional measures to protect the Black Sea marine environment, including through the dissemination of relevant scientific, technical, and statistical information and the encouragement of scientific and technical research;
  • Cooperate with competent international organizations;
  • Consider any questions raised by a Contracting Party; and
  • Perform any other function as declared in the Bucharest Convention or as unanimously decided upon by the Contracting Parties.
In addition, the Contracting Parties first adopted the Strategic Action Plan for the Rehabilitation and Protection of the Black Sea (“BSSAP”) in 1996, which was later amended in 2002. Further revisions to the BSSAP were adopted by the Contracting Parties at the 2009 Ministerial/Diplomatic Conference in Sofia, Bulgaria. In the BSSAP (both the 1996 and 2009 versions), the Contracting Parties elaborated on the goals and objectives that were laid out in the Bucharest Convention. Much of the BSSAP was focused on how best to establish working relationships between the national frameworks of the Contracting Parties, outside states, and other groups that would be important in achieving the goals set out in the Bucharest Convention. The 2009 BSSAP also formulated clear ecosystem quality objectives, corresponding targets (short-, mid- and long-term) to be achieved, and indicators of success.

The 1996 BSSAP obligated the Commission to initially establish seven Advisory Groups (“AGs”) and seven Regional Activity Centers (“RACs”) that would focus on topics deemed to be a priority under the Bucharest Convention and the 1996 BSSAP. The AGs and corresponding RACs include:

  • An Advisory Group on the Environmental Safety Aspects of Shipping, supported by the Activity Centre in Varna, Bulgaria;
  • An Advisory Group on Pollution Monitoring and Assessment, supported by the Activity Centre in Odessa, Ukraine;
  • An Advisory Group on Control of Pollution from Land Based Sources, supported by the Activity Centre in Istanbul, Turkey;
  • An Advisory Group on the Development of Common Methodologies for Integrated Coastal Zone Management, supported by the Activity Centre in Krasnodar, Russia;
  • An Advisory Group on the Conservation of Biological Diversity, supported by the Activity Centre in Batumi, Georgia;
  • An Advisory Group on Fisheries and other Marine Living Resources, supported by the Activity Centre in Constanta, Romania; and
  • An Advisory Group on Information and Data Exchange, supported by the Secretariat.
The 2009 BSSAP contains a number of points for the Contracting Parties to agree on in order to better implement the BSSAP and to improve the functioning of the various components of the Commission. Generally, the new plan calls for:

  • Establishing Inter-Ministerial Coordination committees to help with the integration of the BSSAP’s objectives into national laws;
  • Appointing or nominating National Focal Points to coordinate the BSSAP implementation;
  • Further developing or incorporating into the National BSSAPs the objectives contained in the updated BSSAP;
  • Ensuring expert support for the Commission’s AGs; and
  • Nominating national institutions to provide data and information to the Commission focal points and to the Commission.
Organizational Structure:

The Commission is composed of one representative appointed by each Contracting Party to the Bucharest Convention. This representative can be accompanied at Commission meetings by alternates, advisers, and experts. The Chairmanship of the Commission is held by each Contracting Party, in English alphabetical order, for a one year term. While serving his term, the Chairman cannot also serve as representative for his Contracting Party. The Commission is obligated to meet at least once a year, with extraordinary meetings able to be convened by the Chairman at the request of any Contracting Party. At these meetings, the members of the Commission review the implementation of the Bucharest Convention, its Protocols, and the BSSAP and adopt an annual working program and budget.

The Bucharest Convention also created a permanent Secretariat to assist the Commission. The members of the Commission nominate the Secretariat’s Executive Director and other officials. The Executive Director, in turn, may appoint technical staff, according to the Rules of Procedure adopted by the Commission. The staff of the Secretariat must be made up of nationals from all of the Contracting Parties. The headquarters of the Commission and permanent Secretariat are in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Commission’s operational documents are currently under revision and in a process of update and amendment.
Relationships:

The 1996 BSSAP also called for the Commission and all of the Contracting Parties individually to encourage and pursue coordination among various regional bodies, non-governmental organizations (“NGOs”), the United Nations and other agencies regarding the sustainable development of the Black Sea region. One group identified in the BSSAPs is the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (“BSEC”). BSEC includes all of the Contracting Parties of the Bucharest Convention, as well as many other non-coastal states from the Black Sea region. BSEC was created to increase economic cooperation among the states of the wider Black Sea region. In addition to the BSSAPs, a joint task force (known as the DABLAS task force) was established in 2001 with the specific goal of coordinating the protection of the water and water-related ecosystems of the Danube River Basin and the Black Sea Basin (as the Danube empties into the Black Sea). The Commission, with the help of the United Nations Environment Programme (“UNEP”) and the United Nations Development Programme (“UNDP”)/Global Eenvironment Facility (“GEF”), has also drafted a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (“ICPDR”) to agree on common goals for protection of the two water systems.

As a result of the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the European Union (“EU”) and Turkey also being a candidate for EU accession, the European Commission obtained observer status to the Bucharest Convention. The European Union is considered an “important partner of the Black Sea Commission, and provides substantial contribution to the protection of the Black Sea.” In 2008, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the EU countries and the countries of the wider Black Sea region issued a joint statement to initiate the Black Sea Synergy cooperation. The Black Sea Synergy is intended to encourage greater involvement by the EU in the Black Sea and to increase regional cooperation.

Furthermore, there were also a number of foreign states and representatives of other interested bodies who attended the 1992 Diplomatic Conference as observers. These observers were from Armenia, Greece, Moldova, Yugoslavia (former), the Danube Commission, UNEP, the International Maritime Organization, the World Health Organization, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the World Meteorological Organization, and UNDP.
Decision Making:

The Commission’s decisions and recommendations must be adopted unanimously by the Contracting Parties, including decisions on all financial matters (taking into account the recommendations of the Commission) and when to assign other tasks to the Commission. The Contracting Parties must take certain actions by consensus – such as changing the location of the headquarters and adopting amendments to the Bucharest Convention or its Protocols (including the Annexes). The Contracting Parties may amend the Bucharest Convention. Any Contracting Party may propose an amendment to either the Bucharest Convention or its Protocols. An amendment “shall be adopted by consensus at a Diplomatic Conference of the Contracting Parties to be convened within 90 days after the circulation of the proposed amendment by the depositary.” The amendments enter into force 30 days after the depositary has received notifications of acceptance of these amendments from all of the Contracting Parties.
Dispute Resolution:

Under Article XXV of the Bucharest Convention, any dispute between the Contracting Parties concerning the interpretation and implementation of the Bucharest Convention is to be resolved through negotiations, or any other peaceful means chosen by the parties in dispute.
Data Information Sharing, Exchange, and Harmonization:

One of the AGs called for in the 1996 BSSAP is an advisory group that is focused solely on information and data exchange. See Functions.
Notifications:

Notifications regarding amendment proposals, acceptance of proposals, ratification of the Bucharest Convention and additional protocols, and denunciations are sent through a depositary (Romania), and then transmitted to each Contracting Party through diplomatic channels.
Funding and Financing:

The Bucharest Convention provides that the “contracting states shall decide upon all financial matters on the basis of unanimity, taking into account the recommendations of the Commission.” In the 1996 BSSAP, the Contracting Parties established a set of principles, policies and actions to help achieve the goals set by the Bucharest Convention. One section of the 1996 BSSAP addressed financing issues, stating that funding for the actions may be provided through public funding from the Contracting Parties and from grants and loans.

The 1996 BSSAP called for each Contracting Party to individually draft a national strategic action plan to implement the policies and actions contained in the 1996 BSSAP. Additionally, the 1996 BSSAP included the requirement to provide specific funding information in each Contracting Party’s National Black Sea Strategic Action Plans. This same requirement is also contained in the 2009 BSSAP. The 2009 BSSAP also specifically identifies international assistance as playing an important financial role in implementing the Black Sea environmental policy. The new plan calls for greater coordination regarding international donations at both the national and international levels.

There was also a call to determine the feasibility of a Black Sea Environmental Fund by 2000. The source of this funding was to be provided through national laws adopted by the Contracting Parties. This national funding could be supplemented by funding from the international community. The fund was intended to finance the Commission, as well as the development of projects and proposals. However, establishment of the fund did not occur, and in the Commission’s 2002 Implementation Report (see Compliance and Monitoring), it was mentioned that such a fund was not a feasible source of financing.
Benefit Sharing:

Article III of the Bucharest Convention provides that all of the Contracting Parties are to take part in the Bucharest Convention “on the basis of full equality of rights and duties….”
Compliance and Monitoring:

The Commission is also tasked with preparing reports at regular intervals, annually and every five years, on the implementation of the BSSAPs. A five-yearly report (1996-2000) was approved by the Commission in 2002, and the following five-yearly report (2001-2006/7) was approved by the Commission in April 2009. In addition to the Commission, the DABLAS task force is involved in reviewing the implementation of projects under its purview.
Participation and the Role of Multiple Stakeholders:

The DABLAS Task Force, in addition to being under the auspices of the European Commission, has partnerships with several states, financial institutions, NGOs and regional groups. Examples include the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Council of Europe Development Bank, UNDP, GEF, Austria, Hungary, and Slovenia.
Dissolution and Termination:

Five years after the Bucharest Convention has been in force, any Contracting Party may, by written notification, denounce the Bucharest Convention. The denouncement takes effect on 31 December of the year in which notification of the denouncement was received.
Additional Remarks:

In April 2009, the ministers of the Contracting Parties met in Sofia, Bulgaria. Some issues on the agenda included:
  • Proposed amendments to the Bucharest Convention;
  • Revisions to the LBS Protocol;
  • The adoption of the Biodiversity Protocol;
  • Adoption of the 2009 Implementation Report and the State of the Environment Report 2001-2006/7; and
  • Adoptions of the 2009 BSSAP.
Websites and References: