The document discusses efforts to address agricultural pollution in the Black Sea and Danube regions. A strategic partnership was established through the Global Environment Facility to promote investments and capacity building to reduce nutrient discharge. A strategic investment fund was also created to finance projects aimed at nutrient reduction. Countries in the region are working to comply with EU agricultural and environmental directives such as the Nitrates Directive to protect water from pollution and improve agricultural practices. Moving forward, experiences from pilot projects will be shared, monitoring increased, and partnerships broadened to further reduce agricultural pollution.

1. Progress with Agricultural Nutrient Pollution Control
Projects
in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
and
Relevance to Complying with EU Agricultural
and Environmental Directives
Prepared for Regional Conference on "Agricultural Sources Pollution Control in
Danube, Baltic and Black Sea Riparian Countries", Bucharest, Romania.
September 30 - October 3, 2003
Jitenda P. Srivastava, Meeta Sehgal
Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Unit
World Bank

2. Deterioration of Black Sea
Over the past decades, the quality of the Black Sea waters experienced a significant
ecological decline leading to considerable economic and social losses, notably in
health, tourism, fisheries and biodiversity.
Deterioration has been caused by many factors:
 Nutrient run off from agriculture
 Insufficiently treated sewage
 Conversion of wetlands
 Coastal erosion
 Introduction of exotic species
 Eutrophication
 Inadequate resource management
Most prominent cause of Black Sea degradation is excessive discharge of nutrients –
nitrogen and phosphorous

3. Strategic Partnership on the Danube / Black Sea
Basin
To address problem of excessive nutrient discharge, Global Environment Facility
established Strategic Partnership on the Danube / Black Sea Basin
The objective of the Partnership is to promote investments and capacity building to
return the Black Sea/Danube Basin environment to its 1960s condition.
Tangible Benefits include:
 Improved Marine Ecosystem of Black Sea
 Improved Lands – agriculture, forests
 Increase farm and household incomes
 Improved drinking water supply
 Increased eco-tourism
 Improved Biodiversity

4. Strategic Partnership on the Danube / Black Sea
Partners include:
Basin
 Danube/Black Sea Basin Countries
 World Bank
 United Nations Development Program
 United Nations Environment Program
 European Commission
 EBRD
 European Investment Bank
 USAID
 WWF
 Bilateral cooperation agencies

5. Strategic Partnership Investment Fund
 Investment Fund established as investment arm of the Strategic
Partnership
 Funded by GEF and implemented by World Bank
 Aim is to partially grant finance projects in the Danube and Black
Sea basin that aim at nutrient reduction.
 Has a proposed envelope of US$70 million to be approved in three
tranches

6. Strategic Partnership Investment Fund
There are 17 countries in the Black Sea Basin:
Austria Hungary
Belarus Moldova
Bosnia-Herzegovina Romania
Bulgaria Russian Federation
Croatia Slovak Republic
Czech Republic Slovenia
Georgia Turkey
Germany Ukraine
Yugoslavia
Only 15 countries are eligible for receiving grant financing from GEF
Germany and Austria do not qualify

9. Knowledge Dissemination
 Knowledge sharing is key to the success to achieving overall
objectives and remains an important component of each project
 Conference/Workshops are organized to provide a forum for
information exchange
 The workshops are complemented by a Regional Distance Learning
Program
 Web site on the Strategic Partnership (
www.worldbank.org/blacksea-danube) has been established

10. EU Environmental Acquis
 Environmental Acquis covers a wide range of measures, mostly in the
form of Directives
 Countries aspiring for EU accession must incorporate EU environmental
acquis into national legal order and ensure its implementation.
 Acquis sets quality standards for Air, Waste Management, Water, Nature
Protection, Industrial Pollution Control, Chemicals and Genetically Modified
Organisms
 Environmental Acquis is evolving
 A well functioning institutional capacity is required for the application
and enforcement of the environmental acquis

11. Nitrates Directive
 EU Council Directive 91/67/EEC concerns protection of waters
against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources
 All Member States must incorporate the directive, set up a
comprehensive monitoring network, establish a code of good practices
and designate their vulnerable zones.

12. Nitrates Directive
The European Commission emphasizes that all Member States :
 arrive at a full implementation of the Nitrate Directive
 reinforce surveys and controls at field level (including checking
fertilization plans and records, manure storage and handling, soil analysis,
natural buffer strips, etc.)
 introduce dissuasive penalties for the producers who do not ensure eco-compliance.

13. Implications of EU Policy on Agriculture
To be eligible for farm payments, farmers would be required to:
 keep the land in good agricultural condition
 comply with statutory requirements regarding --
 public, animal and plant health
 occupational safety
 environment
 animal welfare

14. Implications of EU Policy on Agriculture
 To assist farmers to maintain land in good agricultural condition,
Member States would be required to set up a system for advising farmers
on land and farm management.
 Farmers receiving over Euro 15,000 of direct payments or with a
turnover of over Euro 100,000 would be obliged to participate in the farm
advisory system within a period of 5 years.
 The organizations providing the farm advisory services could be
public or private.
 If private, they would need to be overseen by a supervisory body
established by the Member State

15. Agricultural Pollution Control Projects promote a number of
policy, investment and capacity-building interventions, including:
 Adoption of environmentally friendly agricultural practices by
farmers and agro-processors.
 Revision of the regulatory and/or policy framework towards one that
supports reduction of nutrient discharge from agriculture.
 Harmonizing national legislation with EU directives (nitrate directive),
including Code of Good Agricultural Practices.
 Public awareness to disseminate benefits of project interventions so
that they can be replicated in similar areas within the country or other
Black Sea/Danube riparian countries.

16. Looking Ahead
 Sharing of Experiences and Lessons Learned from Pilot Projects
 Monitoring and Evaluation; Impact Analysis
 Replicating
 Increasing Country Commitments
 Widening Scope of Investments
 Emphasizing Private-Public Partnerships
 Broadening Partnerships