Nearly one third of Europes drylands are linked to [602839]

1 INTRODUCTION
Nearly one third of Europe's drylands are linked to
the Black Sea. This is where the great European riv-
ers flow: the Danube, the Dnieper and the Don, and
the only connection with the oceans of the world is
the Bosphorus Strait, with only 70 m deep and 700
m wide, while the Black Sea depth e xceeds in some
places 2 km. Due to these enviro nmental conditions,
the Black Sea waters are "dead" below the 180 m
depth, becoming the largest anoxic pool in the
world. The whole ecosystem is in an a dvanced pro-
cess of degradation, the accidental intr oduction of
fauna, the destruction of coastal aesthetic resources,
overexploitation of resources are obvious facts. The
intensification of subregional cooperation and the
emergence of new problems have called for the
adoption of a special regime to protect against the
degradation of the marine environment.
In 1992, the Republic of Bulgaria, Georgia, Ro-
mania, the Russian Federation, Turkey and Ukraine
signed the Conv ention on the Protection of the Black
Sea against Pollution, accompanied by 3 additional
protocols. It is a conventional assembly where the
general legal regime is established by the Conven-
tion and the special marine environmental protection
regimes agains t particular forms of poll ution: from
land-based sources, oil and other harmful substances
in emergency situations and discharge pollution, are
included in the additional protocols.
In the spirit of general international regulations in
the matter, the Conv ention on the Protection of the
Black Sea has recognized in the Preamble that its
natural and recreational resources "can be preserved, first and foremost, by the joint efforts of the riparian
countries" and, consequently, Taking into account
"the special ecological and hydrological characteri s-
tics of the Black Sea and the special sensitivity of its
fauna and flora to changes in sea water temperature
and composition". Here we come across a generally
accepted definition of the regional sea as a specif ic
area of the ocean, characterized by a certain ge o-
graphic, oceanographic, fishery, human evenness.
2 MEASURES OF BLACK SEA PROTECTION
The program inaugurated in Constanta in 1992,
which tar gets the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, the
coastal coastal areas and the tributary river drainage
basins, is the Global Environment Facility (GEF)
Global Black Sea Environment Program. It aims to
creat e a comprehensive operational framework for
long-term regional cooperation to limit the degrad a-
tion of the environment and marine resources for
their sustainable use.
The political changes in the region over the last
15 years have created the possibility o f actions to
save the Black Sea. The first stage was the launch of
the Program for Ecological Management and Prote c-
tion of the Black Sea, conducted between 1992 –
1996, a program funded by the Global Environment
Fund, a trust formed by the World Bank, the Un ited
Nations Development Program and the United N a-
tions Environment Program . This international pr o-
gram aims to be a catalyst for environmental reco v-
ery and sustainable use and has been finalized, inter Protection and c onservation of Black Sea

F. Brasoveanu & C. Anechitoae
“Ovidius” University of Constanta, Romania

ABSTRACT: These days, the pollution of marine environment went up to worrying proportions. Marine flora
and fauna are subject to unprecedented ship cau sed pollution, especially following catastrophes caused by oil
tanks, as well as to land pollution caused by certain shore companies. During the last decades, the Black Sea
has suffered from land pollution, which has amplified, but also from breaking the r ules of oil tanks navigation.
Under these terms, a profound, scientific research over the protection and preservation of the Black Sea coast
is not only useful, but needed, emphasizing those measures needed to be taken in order to prevent massive
pollution that endangers flora and fauna of the Black Sea.

alia, with the signing of the Black Sea Strategic A c-
tion Plan.
In October 1996, the implementation of the Str a-
tegic Action Plan for the Rehabilitation and Prote c-
tion of the Black Sea a gainst Pollution (PSARPMN)
was established within the Commission for the Pr o-
tection of the Black Sea a gainst Pollution. The Stra-
tegic Action Plan for the Conservation and Prote c-
tion of the Black Sea (Istanbul, October 31, 1996,
the International Day of the Black Sea, fined by the
Mini sterial Declaration adopted in Sofia on June 26,
2002) was signed by the representatives of the ripar-
ian states "In the spirit of the Rio de Janeiro Declar a-
tion of 1992", the document contains a set of princ i-
ples, policies and actions aimed at enhancing
regional cooperation to improve environmental
health, the coastal population and the conservation
of the Black Sea ecosystem. The principles include:
the promotion of the concept of "sustainable deve l-
opment", the precautionary principle, the principle of
preventive action, the principle of stimulating the
use of clean technologies, the use of appropri ate
economic instruments to support sustainable d e-
population, the promotion of close links between r i-
parian states, etc. The objectives are to ensure a
healthy environment for the Black Sea population, to
obtain a biologically diverse marine ecosystem that
supports diverse and viable populations, including
marine mammals and sturgeons, and to provide liv e-
lihoods derived from sustainable activities, Such as
fisheries, aquaculture and tourism in all Black Sea
countries.
The activities contained in the Plan ar e structured
into three major categories: pollution reduction, li v-
ing resource management, sustainable development.
The Black Sea environment, including its fragile and
vulnerable ecosystem, aesthetic and recreational va l-
ues, as well as the well -being of t he coastal popul a-
tion, presents the first signs of recovery.
The concerted actions of the countries borde ring the
Black Sea and the assistance of the intern ational
community in identifying and solving the problems
are in full swing under the auspices of th e Conve n-
tion for t he Protection of the Black Sea a gainst Po l-
lution. They received an impetus following the
Odessa Ministerial Declaration (1993), which aimed
at speeding up the ratification of the Conve ntion and
its protocols by riparian countries and foll owing
Brussels (1999) aimed at reducing pollution in the
Black Sea basin and improving Cooperation between
the states in the region.
Measures to protect the marine environment
against pollution are provided for in other intern a-
tional documents, such as the 2001 Agreement on
the Establishment of the Black Sea Naval Cooper a-
tion Group (Article 2 (f)) or the bilateral treaties
concluded by the riparian states in the field of pr o-
tection (Such as the Agreement of 10 September
2001 between the Government of Rom ania and the Government of the Republic of Turkey on cooper a-
tion in the field of environmental protection, which
establishes among the main sectors of cooperation
and prevention of pollution of the Black Sea.
In 1973, the International Maritime Or ganiz ation
adopted the Marpol International Convention on Oil
Pollution, Chemicals, Packaged Hazardous Su b-
stances, Sewage and Garbage. Protocol I / 1973 to
the Convention, inter alia, requires the ship's co m-
mander to report certain incidents involving a li kely
discharge or unloading of hydrocarbons or a mixture
of hydrocarbons or noxious liquid substances or
mixtures containing such noxious substances.
At the Conference on the Safety of Ships and Pol-
lution Prevention of February 1978, the Protocol to
the 1973 International Convention for the Preve ntion
of Pollution from Ships (Marpol Protocol 1978)
adop ted very restrictive rules on ship inspection and
their certification. As the 1973 Marpol Convention
had not yet entered into force, the Marpol Proto col
of 1978 also embraced the mother convention, and it
entered into force in 1983. The Marpol 73/78 Co n-
vention was amended by the Protocol of 1997 on the
Amendment of the 1973 International Convention
for the Prevention Pollution by ships, as amended by
the 1978 Protocol thereto. Marpol 73/78 also makes
some recommendations on waste disposal, so it is
forbidden to run less than 50 nautical miles off the
coast, with the spill rate being limited to 60 liters of
residue per mile. Exceptions to the spill rules are a c-
ceptable when it is in the middle of the ship's safety
or the protection and salvage of life at sea and the i n-
tention to prevent or remedy a specific case of poll u-
tion. All these regulations aim at "clean" exploitation
of the seas.
3 EUROPEAN LEGAL RU LES IN THE FIELD OF
BLACK SEA PROTECTION
In its Communication on "Strategic Objectives and
Recommendations for EU Maritime Transport Poli-
cy until 2018", the Commission expressed its i nten-
tion "to review the mandate and functioning of the
European Maritime Safety Agency, with a view to
further enhancing technical and scientific assi stance
on Which it may grant to the Member States and the
Commission ". The Commission proposes to remove
the current limitation on the monitoring of shipping,
as other forms of t echnical advice, esp ecially train-
ing and access to operational services, are also im-
portant in the regional context of the Medite rranean
and the Black Sea.
The Commission Directive 2005/35 / EC known
as the Marpol Directive, as amended by Directive
2009/12 3 / EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 21 October 2009, define what hydr o-
carbon discharges constitute offenses, and two cat e-
gories of unlawful discharges, those committed i n-

tentionally / imprudently, namely those committed
through gross ne gligence.
Commission Directive 2007/71 / EC of 13 D e-
cember 2007 on port reception facilities for ship –
generated waste and cargo residues imposes oblig a-
tions on both ships and ports and establishes an obl i-
gation for master ships calling at a European port T o
ship ship -generated waste to existing reception ce n-
ters before leaving the port, and it is possible to pr o-
hibit the landing of vessels that have not dumped. In
the event of non -compliance with these obligations,
the shipowner and the captain shall be lia ble to a fine
of between EUR 4 000 and EUR 40 000.
On 17 January 2008, the European Parliament
endorsed the report on the Black Sea at the plenary
session, after 11 months (11 April 2007), the Co m-
mission of the European Community presented in
Brussels the new EU cooperation initiative For the
Black Sea region, within the framework of the Eur o-
pean Neighborhood Policy (ENP). The "Black Sea
Synergy" report aims to develop cooperation within
the Black Sea region as well as between the region
and the European Un ion, thus implementing the
Commission's December 2006 proposal to add a r e-
gional dimension to the ENP. The Black Sea Sy ner-
gy wishes to complement the EU's efforts to pr omote
stability and reform in the countries around the
Black Sea.
Law no. 17/1990 on the legal regime of the inland
maritime waters, the territorial sea and the contig u-
ous zone and the exclusive economic zone of Rom a-
nia, modified and completed by O.U.G. (Gover n-
ment Emergency Ordinance) no. 51/2011 and Law
no. 255/2013 transposing Directive of the European
Parliament and of the Council no. 2009/123 / EC of
21 October 2009 amending Directive 2005/35 / EC
on ship -source pollution and on the introduction of
penalties for infringements lays down a scheme for:
commercial vessels which are believed t o be in
breach of the legislation on the prevention a nd re-
ducing marine pollution. Article 47 paragraph 1,
point 1 defines pollution of the marine environment
as "the introduction by any natural or legal person,
directly or indirectly, of substances or ene rgy into
the marine environment when it has or may have
harmful e ffects".
According to Law no. 98 of September 16, 1992
for ratifying the Convention for the Protection of the
Black Sea Against Pollution, amended and suppl e-
mented by Law no. 218/2011 on the ratification of
the Protocol on the Conservation of Biodiversity and
the Natural Environment of the Black Sea, signed in
Sofia in 2002, to the Convention for the Protection
of the Black Sea Against Pollution, signed in Buch a-
rest on 21 April 1992, the Contr acting Parties shall
take all necessary measures in conformity With the
provisions of this Convention to "Prevent, Reduce
and Control Pollution." Each Contracting State shall
prohibit, in the areas under its jurisdiction, the un-loading of materials by the natural and legal pe rsons
of States which are not riparian to the Black Sea. It
is also foreseen that the Contracting Parties commit
themselves to take individual or agreed measures to
prevent, reduce or control the pollution of the Black
Sea marine enviro nment from or through the atmos-
phere applicable to airspace over their territory and
to ships under their flag or ships and aircraft Regis-
tered in their territory. The Co nvention protects liv-
ing marine resources so the Co ntracting Parties must
pay particul ar attention to avoiding damage to m a-
rine life and living resources, in particular by chang-
ing their survival habitat and creating barriers to
fishing and other legitimate uses of the Black Sea.
Together with preventive mea sures, the Conven-
tion also provid es for measures r elating to liability
and material liability "in order to ensure the highest
degree of development and pr otection of the Black
Sea against pollution". For the implementation of the
Strategic Action Plan for the Black Sea Rehabilit a-
tion and Protection of the Black Sea (implemented in
1996) activities such as: Int egrated Monitoring and
Evaluation Program for the Black Sea (Romania is
integrated into the Black Sea regional monitoring
system, providing data And the parameters required
for drawin g up the Annual R eport on the Black Sea
Environment Status by the Black Sea Protection
Commission against Poll ution); The Protocol to the
Convention for the Prote ction of the Black Sea
Against Pollution; The N ational Compliance Plan
(approved by Government Decision No. 1593/2002
on the approval of the N ational Plan for Prepare d-
ness, Response and Co -operation in the Case of Ma-
rine Pollution with H ydrocarbons and Other Harmful
Substances, amended by GD No. 893/2006) compo-
nent of the Regional Plan of Contingen cy was signed
by Romania, Bu lgaria and Turkey in 2003. This plan
establishes the structure and modalities of alarm,
communication and response in the case of marine
oil pollution In April 2009, the signatories of the
Strategic Action Plan for the Rehabilit ation and Pro-
tection of the Black Sea (PSARPMN), taking into
account esp ecially the significant political, economic
and social changes that took place in the Black Sea
region, adopted a new Strategic Action Plan for Pro-
tection and rehabilitation of the Bla ck Sea. The new
Plan focuses on four major issues, namely eutroph i-
cation, changes in marine biocenosis populations,
chemical pollution, including that produced by oil
products, changes occurring in marine populations
and hab itats, including the introductio n of invasive
species.
The agreement signed in Istanbul on April 28,
2000 (ratified by Romania through Law No.
746/2001) established the privileges and immunities
accorded to the Commission for the Protection of the
Black Sea Marine Environment in relation to the r e-
sponsibilities and the requirement to efficiently
achieve the goals and functions its.

Law N o. 110/1996 on the ratification of the Unit-
ed Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea con-
cluded at Montego Bay on 10 December 1982 and
the accession to t he Agreement on the Applic ation of
Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the
Law of the Sea concluded at New York on 28 July
1994 is Considered as the special legal fram ework
for preventing, limiting deterioration and i mproving
water quality in order to avoid the negative impact
on all environmental factors. According to Article
192, "States have the duty to protect and co nserve
the marine environment, not to harm or harm and not
to replace one type of pollution with a nother." Poll u-
tion due to the ope ration of ships is due to waste and
wastewater produced on board Oper ation and
maintenance of the ship. State obligations on ship –
source pollution are laid down in Article 211 of Law
110/1996. "States, acting through the comp etent in-
ternational organizatio n or a general dipl omatic co n-
ference, shall adopt international rules and standards
for the prevention, reduction and control of envi-
ronmental pollution ships, and is committed to pro-
moting, if possible, the adoption of ships' move-
ments in order to minimiz e the risk of acc idents
likely to pollute the marine environment, i ncluding
the coastline, and thereby affect the related in terests
of the riparian states. "
Emergency Ordinance no. 202 of 18 Dece mber
2002 on Integrated Coastal Zone Man agement, as
amended b y Law N o. 187/2012, does not contain
provisions aimed at protecting and conserving the
Black Sea marine ecosystem. Many provisions in the
current legislation only address pollution and do not
address other pressures exerted by the socio –
economic system suc h as biodiversity loss and de g-
radation, habitat loss, intensive fishing, eutrophic a-
tion. Therefore, the transposition of the Marine
Strategy Framework Directive will add value to the
protection of the marine environment by reducing,
in time, these effects caused by the often brutal in-
tervention of the socio -economic system. It will also
ensure the legal framework for achieving a good e n-
vironmental status of the marine environment by
2020, as well as the implementation of Community
policy across all marine r egions, including the Black
Sea region. It should be stressed that Romania, with-
in the Consultative Group on Biodiversity Co nserva-
tion, Consultative Group for Monitoring and Eva l-
uation of Pollution, as well as at commissioners'
meetings presented the Marin e Strategy Framework
Directive in order to initiate a dialogue between all
countries for its implementation in the marine region
Black Sea. In 2011, the first working meeting with
the Bulgarian side took place in Bucharest, where
the experts were nominated and a work program was
developed to intensify the collaboration between the
two Member States in order to achieve the objective
of the Directive, namely to maintain the ecological
balance in the region Black Sea. Other s measures of Black Sea protection in
achieving and even completing the meaning of the
1992 Convention, the Riparian States have signed
and applied other documents to promote mu ltilateral
cooperation in the field. Thus, the Ministerial Decl a-
ration on the Protection of the Black Sea is a pr e-
dominantly political text with pragmatic goals of
protecting the marine environment in the short and
long term in terms of pollution control, natural r e-
source rehabilitation and rational waste manag e-
ment.
The International Black Sea Research Pro-
gram, initiat ed in Varna in 1991, has as main objec-
tives: identification and creation of a database man-
agement system for the delta area as well as the
Black Sea continental shelf, creation of a geographic
information system (GIS) The two mentioned areas,
as well as th e deepening of marine research.
The Global Environment Facility (GEF)
Global Environment Facility Management and
Protection Program (GEF) was inaugurated in
Constanta in 1992 and targets the Black Sea, the
Azov Sea, coastal coastal areas and tribu tary river
drainage basins except the Danube. The program
aims at creating a comprehensive operational
framework for long -term regional cooperation to
limit the continuing degradation of the enviro n-
ment and marine resources and their sustainable
use. The p rogram on interaction between the D an-
ube River and the Northwestern Black Sea (EROS –
2000), proposed in Paris in 1994, with the contri-
bution of the European Union, aims at co nducting
research on environmental quality in the region,
with the participation of specialists from r iparian
countries , From France, Belgium, Germany and the
UK. It is a continuation of the EROS -2000 pr o-
grams for the Western Mediterranean.
Strategic A ction Plan for Development and
Protection of the Black Sea Signed by the repre-
sentative s of the riparian states, "in the spirit of the
Rio Declaration", the document contains a set of
principles, policies and actions aimed at e nhancing
regional cooperation towards enhancing environ-
mental health, the coastal population and the con-
servation of the Black Sea ec osystem.
Other such programs: Monitoring program, la-
boratory analysis and information management in
Black Sea riparian countries, Multi -institutional
Regional Cooperation Program, Regional Black
Sea Program for Marine Research and Services ,
etc.
4. CONCLUSIONS
Black Sea Pollution has reached such an extent in
the last forty years that, according to many experts,
the marine ecosystem would take years to complete
recovery, viewed both from the point of view of the

health of the biotopes and t he rehabilitation of all
species of flora and fauna that have suffered from
pollution. Better knowledge of the long -term impact
of oil spills can bring a major asset in managing and
combating environmental and marine impacts. If we
do not take action to pr event the danger, today's po l-
lution will not be anything compared to tomorrow's
pollution.
The most important in the case of an oil pollution
accident is the rapid intervention as well as the anal-
ysis of the major risk factors, which makes it neces-
sary to observe the coordination and cooper ation of
all the actors involved. At the Black Sea level we
can talk about: common training and exercises in
case of a national and international accident. The
Port State Control service is required to control the
ship's compliance with Marpol 73/78 requirements
according to the ship's risk profile. The risk profile
of a ship is determined by the ship's type, age and
flag, number of deficiencies and detentions over a
given period, etc.
Water quality monitoring is done thro ugh the
Clean Sea Net service. It is a powerful tool that pr o-
vides real -time satellite imagery on the extent of
ship-generated oil stains, the purpose of which is to
improve the identification of polluting vessels and,
therefore, the possibility of crimina l prosecution.
Another aid comes from EMSA that provides tec h-
nical and scientific assistance to Member States and
the Commission to improve marine safety standards.
In the case of pollution, ships equipped with hydr o-
carbon storage facilities are used for t he entire Union
coastal zone.
Strategies for the marine environment must cu l-
minate in the implementation of programs of
measures aimed at achieving good environmental
status. However, Member States should not be re-
quired to adopt specific measures where th ere is no
significant risk to the marine environment, or where
the costs would be disproportionate to the risks to
the marine environment, provided that any A dec i-
sion not to act to be duly justified.
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