Peter Whalley, ICPDR (UNDP-GEF Tisza River Basin) Presentation given during the 5th GEF Biennial International Waters Conference in Cairns, Australia (during the pre-conference workshop marine ecosystems, Global Change and Marine Resources).

1. Reducing impacts of the
Danube River Basin on the
Black Sea
Peter Whalley – UNDP-GEF Tisza / ICPDR

2. 2
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

3. 3
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

4. 4
Danube River Basin
Analysis Report
Approved at the Ministerial Meeting
– Vienna, 13 December 2004
WFD Article V
Roof Report

5. 5
Four Significant Water
Management Issues
Organic
Pollution
Nutrient
Pollution
Hazardous
Substances Pollution
Hydromorphological
Alterations

6. 6
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".

7. 7
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

8. 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

9. 9

10. 10
Results of the scenario calculation

11. 11
Scenarios results (N)

12. 12
Macrozoobenthos
Zoobenthos - Constanta (RO)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
1960s 1988 1996 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2006 2007 2008
Date
Numberofspecies