Black Sea Commission
The Black Sea Commission is an intergovernmental organisation responsible for the implementation of the Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea against Pollution, and sets the legal framework required for regional cooperation and the activities necessary to reduce pollution and enhance the protection of the marine environment.
The parties to this Convention, Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, the Russian Federation, Turkey and Ukraine are all represented in the Commission. The Permanent Secretariat of the Black Sea Commission is located in Istanbul, Turkey.
The Black Sea Commission helps these countries to find joint solutions to tackle both existing and potential problems in order to protect this shared heritage. It is necessary that the countries represented in this Commission shall strive to increase their efforts towards protection and sustainable use of this unique Large Marine Ecosystem.”
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.
The ICPDR and the Black Sea Commission
The ICPDR has been collaborating with the Black Sea Commission since 1997, working to remedy the environmental degradation of the Black Sea originating in the Danube through a ‘Joint Technical Working Group.’ Co-operation was fully reinforced by a Memorandum of Understanding signed in November 2001 at a ministerial meeting in Brussels.
The ICPDR was a member of the DABLAS Task Force, set up in November 2001 as a platform for cooperation between international financial institutions (IFIs), donors, and beneficiaries for the protection of water and ecosystems both along the Danube and in the Black Sea. The task force included representatives from the countries in the region, the ICPDR, the Black Sea Commission, IFIs, the EC, interested EU Member States, other bilateral donors, and other regional and international organizations.
