Technical Reports Parts C,D - ICPDR

Technical Reports – Part D: Water Environmental Engineering 131
The Agreements between Ukraine and Moldova on the common use and protection of
water resources of Dnister River,
The Agreements between Ukraine and Poland on the boundary control of the water
quality of Western Bug and other rivers.
There are many agreements concerning the cross-border control of the water quality between
Ukrainian regional nature protection departments and similar departments in Hungary, Poland,
Slovakia, Belarus.
Black Sea matters
Along with the independence, Ukraine gained the status of a marine State. But the Black Sea which
Ukraine has access to, is an internal sea and, unfortunately is on the list of the most polluted seas in
the world. The situation with the Black Sea has not always been like this. The Black Sea is a
unique marine natural system with its bioproductive, recreational and potential capacities. Huge
productive potential of the Black Sea and its basin has been providing the Black Sea area
inhabitants with all the necessary-for-life products for thousands of years. In the beginning of the
20th century one could still get an impression of the guaranteed endless use of its resources. But the
exceeding use of the marine resources and the use of the Black Sea as the reservoir for wastes
disposal, especially during the period of the last thirty years, have caused catastrophic degradation
of its environmental system and drastic reduction of its productivity.
Ukraine has the longest coastal line in this rather inhabited region. That is why its environment has
always been a subject to close attention and major concern for the Ukrainian Government.
But Ukraine is not the only country to use the resources of the Black Sea, and the infinite
contamination of marine environment comes from the collector basin, the surface of which several
times exceeds the surface of the Black Sea itself. The Black Sea gathers a convincing number of 17
countries around it. Thus, the solution of the Black Sea environmental problems is impossible
without thoroughly considered international co-operation. The commitments undertaken by the
Black Sea countries concerning the protection and use of its resources is set out in the Convention
on the Black Sea pollution protection (done in Bucharest in 1992) that is the basic legal title
defining the priorities and directions of the international nature protection activities in the Black
Sea basin. The Convention was ratified by all the Black Sea countries. The general nature
protection policy is outlined in the Odessa Declaration signed by the Ministers of environment
protection of Bulgaria, Georgia, Russia, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine in 1993. Practically the
Declaration gave the start to the idea-generating process that was later put into words in the
Convention of Bucharest.
It was under this legislation base that the International Programme ’Management and protection of
the Black Sea’ for the years of 1993 - 1997 to assist the Governments of Bulgaria, Georgia, Russia,
Romania, Turkey and Ukraine to carry out the provisions of the Convention, was implemented
under the umbrella of GEF. The Programme consisted of 3 components and was oriented on:
strengthening of nature protection potential;
policy development;
attraction of large-scale investments.
The Programme had exclusively positive influence on consolidation of the international efforts in
the field of control for marine environment pollution and use of its natural resources.
The intentions of the Black Sea countries to save the Black Sea from further degradation were
stated in the Programme document that is in the Strategic Action Plan for the Black Sea (signed on
31 of October 1996 by Ministers of Environment of the Black Sea countries). As a development of