Reducing impacts of the Danube River Basin on the Black Sea

Peter Whalley – UNDP-GEF Tisza / ICPDR

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THE DANUBE RIVER BASIN the most international basin in the world

» 801,463 km2 (10% of Europe)

» 2,857 km

» > 81 M Inhabitants

» 19 Countries

» Old EU, New EU and non-EU

» Regional social and economic disparities

» EU support

» 18 years GEF support

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Legal Frameworks

• Bucharest Declaration (1985)• Danube River Protection Convention (Sofia 1994)• Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea against

Pollution (Bucharest 1992)• EU Water Directives – specifically Water Framework

Directive• Memorandum of Understanding between Danube and Black

Sea Commissions

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Danube River Basin Analysis Report

Approved at the Ministerial Meeting – Vienna, 13 December 2004

WFD Article V Roof Report

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Four Significant Water

Management Issues

Organic Pollution

Nutrient Pollution

Hazardous Substances

Pollution

Hydromorphological

Alterations

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Political commitments The Danube nutrient loads: important factor responsible for the deterioration of the Black Sea ecosystem

MoU of ICPBS and ICPDR, 2001 "the long-term goal in the wider Black Sea Basin is to take measures to reduce the loads of nutrients and hazardous substances discharged to such levels necessary to permit Black Sea ecosystems to recover to conditions similar to those observed in the 1960s.

Danube Declaration (Ministerial Meeting, 2004)"to reduce the total amount of nutrients entering the Danube and its tributaries to levels consistent with the achievement of good ecological status in the Danube river and to contribute to the restoration of an environmentally sustainable nutrient balance in the Black Sea".

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Danube Country’s Responses to nutrients

• Developing ‘Joint’ Programme of Measures• Implementing EU Directives (WFD, UWWT,

Nitrates)• Reducing P in laundry detergents• Encouraging implementation of BAPs• Promoting reconnection of wetlands/floodplains

MONERIS decision support and management tool

Concept for integration of data required by the EU directives for MONERIS calculations

Basin wide overview of point and diffuse pollution sources

Calculation of scenarios for possible changes of nutrients loads within the Danube river systems and into the Black Sea

Evaluation of Program of Measures

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Results of the scenario calculation

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Scenarios results (N)

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Macrozoobenthos

Zoobenthos - Constanta (RO)

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1960s 1988 1996 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2006 2007 2008

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