The Black Sea Commission implements the Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution signed by six countries in 1992. Its main challenges are combating pollution from land and sea, sustainably managing marine resources, and pursuing sustainable development. The Black Sea is a semi-enclosed sea located between Europe and Asia, and supports a productive ecosystem despite pollution issues.

1. “We borrowed the Earth for our children and we
have no right to disinherit them!” (J. Y. Cousteau)

3. The countries with borderings to the Black Sea:
1. Romania
2. Bulgaria
3. Ukraine
4. Russia
5. Georgia
6. Turkey

5. The Commission on the Protection of
the Black Sea Against Pollution
Mission
Acting on the mandate of the Black Sea countries (Bulgaria,
Georgia, Romania, Russian Federation, Turkey and Ukraine) which on
the 21-04-1992, signed and shortly thereafter ratified the Convention
on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution, the Commission
on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution (the Black Sea
Commission) implements the provisions of the Convention and the
Black Sea Strategic Action Plan.
Main Challenges
 Combating Pollution from land-based sources and maritime
transport,
 Achieving sustainable management of marine living resources,
Pursuing sustainable human development

6. Main Challenges
 Combating Pollution from land-based sources and maritime
transport,
 Achieving sustainable management of marine living resources,
Pursuing sustainable human development
Since the 1960s, rapid industrial expansion
along the Black Sea coast line and the
construction of a major dam has
significantly increased annual variability in
the N:P:Si ratio in the basin.
Pollution reduction and regulation
efforts have led to a partial recovery of
the Black Sea ecosystem during the 1990s,
and an EU monitoring exercise, 'EROS21',
revealed decreased N and P values,
relative to the 1989 peak. Recently,
scientists have noted signs of ecological
recovery, in part due to the construction
of new sewage treatment plants in
Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria
in connection with membership in the
European Union.

8. Called “Pontus Euxinos”, “Kara Denis” or “Cernoie
More”, Black Sea represents a source of food ans
health, an inspiration for the poets, a magic place,
but this “unicum hydrobiologicum” is already a fragil
sistem, in danger and only with great efforts we can
restore it to its original state.

10. Features of the Black Sea
Surface: 466 200 km 2;
Average depth: 1 271 m;
Maximum depth: 2 211 m (in the central-
southern part);
The wather volume: 537 000 km 3;
Maximum length 1 200 km;
Maximum depth of oxic layer: 150 m.
Black Sea is a semi-closed sea, with low
salinity, with an anoxic layer(150- 2 000 m)
and a high biological productivity.
It presents like an intercontinental basin,
almost isolated from the Mediterranean
Sea, which communicates through the
Bosphorus strait, narrow and a little deep.

12. The wonderful world of the deep
The Flora

14. The Fauna
Stingray,
near
Romanian
Coast
Goby, near
Romanian Coast
Jellyfish, near
Romanian Coast
Common dephin

15. Spniny dogfish
(Black Sea sharks at
Risk) Actinia, near
Romanian Coast
Goat fish, near
Romanian
Coast
Hermit Crab,
near Romanian
Coast
Blue Sponge,
near
Romanian
Coast
Seahorse, near
Romanian Coast

16. Ecology
The Black Sea supports an active and dynamic marine
ecosystem, dominated by species suited to the brackish, nutrient-rich,
conditions. As with all marine food webs, the Black Sea features a
range of trophic groups, with autotrophic algae, including diatoms
and dinoflagellates, acting as primary producers. The fluvial systems
draining Eurasia and central Europe introduce large volumes of
sediment and dissolved nutrients into the Black Sea, but distribution of
these nutrients is controlled by the degree of physiochemical
stratification, which is, in turn, dictated by seasonal physiographic
development. During winter, strong wind promotes convective
overturning and upwelling of nutrients, while high summer
temperatures result in a marked vertical stratification and a warm,
shallow mixed layer. Day length and insolation intensity also controls
the extent of the photic zone. Subsurface productivity is limited by
nutrient availability, as the anoxic bottom waters act as a sink for
reduced nitrate, in the form of ammonia. The benthic zone also plays
an important role in Black Sea nutrient cycling, as chemosynthetic
organisms and anoxic geochemical pathways recycle nutrients which
can be upwelled to the photic zone, enhancing productivity.

17. The Fauna
In the Black Sea lives 3 species of dolphins : the common dolphin , the
bottlenose dolphin and the porpoise dolphin. The biggest and, in the
same time, the most known is the bottlenose dolphin becouse it adapts
easily to captivity conditions . In the ‘40s , the flocks populations of this 3
species of dolphins of the Black Sea were estimated at
1,5 – 2 millions.
Annual catch of about 62,000 copies and the reduction of fish stocks
led to a decrease of its number, reaching in 1965 al only 300.000 copies.
Although the industrial fishing was forbidden, due to pollution, the number
of dolphins continued to decline. Between 1983-1984 dolphin populations
were estimated at 60.000-100.000 copies. Nowadays, herd size of three
dolphin species is not known.

18. Climate
Short-term climatic variation in the Black Sea region is
significantly influenced by the operation of the North Atlantic
Oscillation, which is a term used to describe the climatic
mechanisms resulting from the interaction between the north
Atlantic and mid-latitude air masses. While the exact
mechanisms causing the North Atlantic Oscillation remain
unclear, it is thought the climate conditions established in
western Europe mediate the heat and precipitation fluxes
reaching Central Europe and Eurasia, regulating the formation
of winter cyclones, which are largely responsible for regional
precipitation inputs and influence Mediterranean Sea Surface
Temperatures (SST's). The relative strength of these systems also
limits the amount of cold air arriving from northern regions
during winter. Other influencing factors include the regional
topography, as depressions and storms systems arriving from
the Mediterranean are funneled through the low land around
the Bosphorus, Pontic and Caucasus mountain ranges acting
as wave guides, limiting the speed and paths of cyclones
passing through the region

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