Marine spatial plan for the cross-border area Mangalia Shabla Current situation analysis EUROPEAN COMMISSION Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) Department A - COSME, H2020 SME and EMFF Unit A3 - EMFF Call reference No: MARE/2014/22 Project Full Name: Cross border maritime spatial planning in the Black Sea – Romania and Bulgaria (MARSPLAN – BS) Project No: EASME/EMFF/2014/1.2.1.5/2/SI2.707672 MSP LOT 1 /BLACK SEA/MARSPLAN-BS European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) Marine spatial plan for the cross-border area Mangalia Shabla Volume 1 Current situation analysis - topic paper DELIVRABLE Page 1 Marine spatial plan for the cross-border area Mangalia Shabla Current situation analysis 1. Introduction to specific problems of the area The marine spatial plan for Mangalia-Shabla area was conceived as a pilot project included in MATSPLAN -BS project in order to test the capacities of the two countries to develop and adopt a concrete instrument for the management of the marine area. This plan takes into consideration the existing data describing the processes of the natural marine areas as well as the human activities developed in this area in order to establish balance between human actions and ecosystems subsistence. The plan is meant also to to put into practice the EU Directive for MSP, creating an institutional framework for MSP implementation in Romania and Bulgaria, enhancing the cross-border cooperation and exchange of information between the two countries. 1.1 Plan area delimitation The spatial plan area is located at the border between Romania and Bulgaria, its delimitation took into consideration two types of zones: the territorial waters (the management area) and coastal area and EEZ (the extended analyse area for the study of interactions). The coastal area includes the municipalities Mangalia and Limanu (in Romania) and Shabla (in Bulgaria). The management area is 1,093,389 sqkm, from which the Romanian area is 417,084 sqkm and the Bulgarian part is of 672,93 sqkm. The spatial plan area The management area expands on East -West direction from the shoreline (baseline) to the limit of the territorial waters of the two countries, being delimited at North and South by the extension of the Mangalia and respectively Shabla municipalities’ limits. The rationale for choosing the pilot plan area was its location in the cross-border area, its heterogeneity (the Romanian part is urbanised and more populated and developed; the Bulgarian area is more natural, sparsely populated and developed) which could offer a large variety of challenges for the plan’s strategic decisions. The external context analysis of the plan area will take into consideration the area contained by the boundaries of the NUTS III units, adjacent to the country border and the Economic Exclusive Zone limit, in order to identify sources of influence (e.g. pollution sources, migration of fauna, transport routes, exploration and exploitation areas, etc.). Mangalia and Limanu municipalities are located in the South of Constanta County, adjacent to the border. The municipality of Mangalia is located on a plateau with an approximate elevation of 10 meters from the sea level, which borders the seaside on the East and the Limanu lake South. The Limanu municipality include two settlements, Limanu and 2 Mai; the first located at the lake Limanu shore, the second being situated at the seaside. Page 2 Marine spatial plan for the cross-border area Mangalia Shabla Current situation analysis The municipality of Shabla (LAU1 region) is geographically located at the North Bulgarian Black Sea coast, from cape Sivriburun to the border of Romania. It is a part of Dobrich county (NUTS III region). The total coastal length of the plan area is 54.94 Km, from which the Romanian shore length is 21.2 km and the Bulgarian shoreline length is 33.75 km. The Bulgarian area is still low urbanised and low developed compared to the southern part of the Bulgarian coast. The maritime border of the plan area is the territorial waters limit of the two countries. 1.2 Documents relevant for the marine plan area The elaboration of the marine spatial plan will take in consideration the following international and trans-boundary collaboration documents which have effects on the plan area: - Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea against Pollution, regulating the environmental protection of the Black Sea by its Protocols and being in concordance with other relevant national/international legislation. - The Danube River Protection Convention, signed by Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine, which is an overall legal instrument for cooperation and trans boundary water management in the Danube River Basin. - The Memorandum of Understanding ensures the economic cooperation between all Black Sea countries. - The Black Sea Biodiversity and Landscape Conservation Protocol, the Protocol on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Black Sea from Land-Based Sources and Activities and the Legally Binding Document on Fisheries. - The Strategic Action Plan for the Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation of the Black Sea, adopted in Sofia, in 2009, by the Governments of all Black Sea countries. - The Black Sea Environmental Project (BSEP) and the Black Sea Ecosystem Recovery Project (BSERP) and other interventions supported implementation of the Bucharest Convention and the Strategic Action Plan for the Rehabilitation and Protection of the Black Sea, and other projects affecting the plan area. - The Black Sea Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme (BSIMAP) has been implemented by the Black Sea Commission since 2001. The BSIMAP is addressed to the main trans-boundary environmental problems in the Black Sea region. 1.3 Spatial planning documents and strategies relevant for the area The countries in the Black Sea basin have made progress towards developing more effective ecosystem conservation policies and implementing international commitments, but no marine spatial plan was produced so far. There are a variety of spatial plans and strategies whose provisions are relevant for the marine spatial plan of the cross-border area: - Development Plan of Shabla Municipality for 2014 – 2020 - General Urban Plan Mangalia Municipality 2014 – 2020 - General Urban Plan for Limanu Municipality 2005 - Development Strategy of Dobrich County 2014 – 2020 - Development Plan for Dobrich Municipality 2014-2020 - Project Plan Coast - Coastal Zone and Maritime Spatial Planning 2006-2008 Page 3 Marine spatial plan for the cross-border area Mangalia Shabla Current situation analysis 2. Current situation analysis of the marine processes and activities and the land sea interactions present in the cross-border area Mangalia- Shabla 2.1 Natural environment 2.1.1 Changes in biodiversity and habitats Habitats and ecosystems The habitable marine environment in the Black Sea is mostly on the continental shelf, to a depth of 200 m and is influenced to a large extent, by the abiotic environment and water dynamics. The submarine topography, characterized by different biotopes, ensures the development of flora and fauna closely related to this configuration. Thus, some animals prefer rocky substrates, while others sandy or muddy substrates. The Pontic biotope can be classified as follows: Supralittotal: It consists of shore areas covered or occasionally lashed by waves. The area has an increased humidity, flooding, generally large amounts of organic material brought by waves or of local origin. Mediolittoral: according to soil substrate, it is divided in rocky and sandy or muddy areas and includes the breakwave zone between 0 and 0.5 m deep. In the hard substrate areas it covers a 2-10 m wide strip, depending on the inclination of the rocky platform. Infralittoral: It lies at depths of 0.5-12 m, maximum 18 m. It is the most favourable area to life, where most species of algae are found and the biomass of most multicellular organisms is the richest, as well as different animal species. Circalittoral: It extends from 12 to 18 m depths up to 100 m, rarely 150 m. The substrate is usually muddy and less often sandy. The main biotope of this floor consists of associations of mollusks and worms that constitute the favourite food of many species of fish that come here from the infralittoral area to feed. Periazoic: located between 100 m depth (sometimes 50 m) and 150 m depth (rarely 200 m), it makes the passage between the oxygenated water layer that allows aquatic animal and plant life and the Pontic specific layer of sulphide bacteria, contaminated with hydrogen sulphide. Here are found thanatocoenoes (recently dead animals) or subfossile associations, with low numbers of living organisms. Microbiologically, the area presents a mixture of aerobic bacteria and anaerobes, respectively. Azoic: It starts at 150-200 m and descends to the maximum depth of the Black Sea (2,212 m). It forms a unique biotope, where the only existing life forms are sulphide-reducing bacteria (Microspira, Desulfovibrio). Along the Romanian coast are situated a large variety of marine and coastal habitats, falling in the following categories: infralittoral areas (submerged) with shallow waters; mediolitoral - sandy or rocky shore, cliffs continued by limestone plateaus, sand dunes, marshes and salt meadows (annex 1). Due to their ecological value, a great attention is given to the natural habitats of community interest listed in Annex I of the Habitats Directive: 1. Sandbanks slightly covered by sea water all the time (Natura 2000 Code: 1110) Pal. Class.: 11.12, 11.22, 11.31, 11.33, (Palaearctic class) The habitats are characterized by sandbanks composed of sandy sediments in the form of deposits made up of boulders and cobbles, larger grain sizes and/or smaller grain sizes having tall shapes, oblong, rounded or irregular, permanently submerged and predominantly surrounded by deeper water. The biotopes are associated with sandbanks. This habitat is located on the coast between Vama Veche – Olimp. Page 4 Marine spatial plan for the cross-border area Mangalia Shabla Current situation analysis 2.