Marine Litter in The

Marine litter in the Black Sea Region The Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution 2007 The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Black Sea Commission or the United Nations Environment Programme concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Moreover, the views expressed do not necessarily represent the decision or the stated policy of the Black Sea Commission or United Nations Environment Programme, nor does citing of trade names or commercial processes constitute endorsement. The preparation of this report was financed by the United Nations Environment Programme For bibliographic purposes this document may be cited as: BSC, 2007. Marine litter in the Black Sea Region: A review of the problem. Black Sea Commission Publications 2007-1, Istanbul, Turkey, 160 pp. Copyright © by the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea from Pollution ISBN 978-9944-245-32-6 This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non- profit purposes without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. Black Sea Commission and the United Nations Environment Programmes would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this publication as a source. No use of this publication may be made for resale or for any other commercial purpose whatsoever without prior permission in writing from the Permanent Secretariat of the Black Sea Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution. Cover design: Nikki Meith Photos: A. Birkun III, A. Birkun IY, Sergey Krivokhizhin, E. Nazarenko, Y. Yurenko, A. Kryukova Cover images provided by the Permanent Secretariat of the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution, Alexei Birkun IY, Alexander Vershinin and Laura Boicenko. Published by Referans Çeviri Hizmetleri, Yazılım ve Yayıncılık Ltd. on behalf of the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea from Pollution. Referans Çeviri Hizmetleri, Yazılım ve Yayıncılık Ltd., Receppaşa Cad., No: 5 Atakar İş Merkezi, Kat: 3 Talimhane 34437 Taksim, Beyoğlu, İstanbul, TURKEY Phone: +90 212 361 50 71 Fax: +90 212 361 44 29 [email protected] Printed by FSF Matbaacılık ve Reklamcılık Hizmetleri Ltd. Şti. Bağlar Mevkii Firuzköy Cad. No: 44 Avcılar – İstanbul Phone: +90 212 690 89 89 Fax: +90 212 690 83 13 Printed on recycled paper PREFACE The human race is constantly consuming more goods and hence producing more waste. Unfortunately, this increasing amount of waste produced is not being efficiently collected, disposed of or processed properly. Due to the increased population in coastal areas; a very significant amount of litter finds its way to the seashore and marine environments. The problem is even greater in developing countries, where main targets are to increase economic growth and production where issues related to protecting the environment are a minor ‘priority’. The Black Sea, with its densely populated coastal strip, is a “developing” region, especially considering its ever-increasing importance in energy extraction and transport, tourism, and fisheries. Marine litter, either originating from the vessels or from the shores or rivers, is a “visible” pollution problem along the coasts of the Black Sea, in the sea itself and on the bottom of the sea. Marine litter is also a transboundary problem in this enclosed sea basin which displays a very dynamic current system, enabling transportation of any matter from a given location in the Black sea to almost any coastal area. A great portion of the Marine Litter in our region is of non bio- degradable nature, therefore, it is not an aesthetic problem simply, but it often seriously damages the living organisms and might threaten the biodiversity of the Black sea. This is the most extensive publications written on Marine Litter of the Black Sea. This report evaluates existing data, policies, activities, and institutional arrangements concerning the Marine Litter in the Black Sea region and proposes several actions to deal with the problem. One of the main suggestions is the inclusion of major appropriate actions into the revised Strategic Action Plan, to be adopted in 2008. Developing the necessary policy documents and strategic plans could be achieved relatively smoothly; however, educating the polluters proves the major challenge in dealing with the Marine Litter problem. Indeed, responsible citizenship could easily decimate this kind of pollution in a relatively short time. Many people contributed to this report, i.e. authors, data and other information providers, staff of the Permanent Secretariat. The members of the Black Sea Commission supported strongly the preparation of this report, whilst UNEP-RSP provided the necessary funding. Thanks to all contributors for their efforts towards a “noticeably” cleaner Black Sea. Dr Ahmet Erkan KIDEYS Executive Director of the Permanent Secretariat The Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution Istanbul, December 2007 i Dedicated to the memory of Prof Dr Erdoğan Okuş (1 June 1962 - 9 April 2006), one of the contributors of this report, who lost his life during a research cruise in the Black Sea iii AUTHORS OF THE REPORT AUTHORS OF THE REPORT Black Sea Regional Consultant on Marine Litter Alexei Birkun, Jr. Brema Laboratory, Deputy director on science Gagarin Str. 9a-18, 95028, Simferopol, Ukraine Involved in ML research since 2002 Tel.: +380 652 253503 Fax: +380 652 522792 [email protected] National Consultants on Marine Litter Alexei Atudorei National Research and Development Institute for Head of Environmental Engineering Department Environmental Protection (INCDPM–ICIM), Splaiul Ph.D. on Anaerobic Solid and Liquid Waste Independentei 294, sector 6, 060031, Bucharest 78, Treatment; President of the Romanian National Romania Standardization Committee for Waste and Sludge Tel.: +40 21 3182057/ext. 160 Characterization; Scientific Secretary of the +40 21 2201056 (direct) Romanian Association for Solid Waste Fax: +40 21 3182001 Management (ARS); member of ISWA; in 2000- [email protected] 2004 was involved in preparation of the National Strategy and National Plan for Waste Management Tamar Gamgebeli Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, Chief specialist of the Water Protection Department Guramishvili Str. 5a, 0192, Tbilisi, Georgia Participated in data collection for garbage Tel.: +995 32 612204 management in Batumi and Poti within the ICZM [email protected] Programme Suna Gurler Dedeoglu Emirhan Cad., Hazimefendi Apt. No 43, Dikilitas, Istanbul, Landscape Architect Turkey Tel.: +90 212 2274747 [email protected] Natalia Movchan Parliament of Ukraine, Principal consultant of the Ecological Committee of Grushevsky Str. 5, 01008, Kyiv, Ukraine the Parliament of Ukraine Tel.: +380 44 2552286 Participated in the preparation of the Ukrainian Fax: +380 44 2552272 environmental legislation [email protected] Atanaska Nikolova Basin Directorate for the Black Sea Region, External consultant Sheinovo Str. 24, 8000 Bourgas, Bulgria Participated in the elaboration of methodology for Tel.: +359 56 847225 monitoring of ML pollution and preparation of the Fax: +359 56 847226 Guidelines for beach operators for sustainable [email protected] management of the beaches, the Waste management strategies for the Port of Bourgas and Bourgas Municipality; took part in monitoring and analysis of litter pollution on Bulgarian beaches (The late) Erdogan Okus Institute of Marine Science and Management, University of Professor Istanbul, Muskule Sok. No.1, 34470, Vefa/Istanbul, Turkey Involved in ML research since 2001 Tel.: +90 212 5196788 Fax: +90 212 5268433 Yuriy Yurenko Centre on Hydrometeorology and Environment Monitoring of Head of the Marine Department the Black and Azov Seas, Plastunskaya Street 100-84, Aerovisual surveying of ML in 2003-2005 354003, Sochi, Russia Tel.: +7 8622 319264 Fax: +7 8622 614342 [email protected] iv Marine Litter - A Review of the Problem CONTENTS AUTHORS OF THE REPORT .........................................................................iv CONTENTS ....................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES ..........................................................................................vii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................... viii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................ 6 1. THE BLACK SEA ENVIRONMENT IN VIEW OF MARINE LITTER PROBLEM ............................................................................................. 8 1.1. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY ........................................................................................... 8 1.2. HYDROLOGY ............................................................................................................. 9 1.3. SOCIAL ECOLOGY AND ANTHROPOGENIC THREATS ......................................... 11 1.4. MARINE AND SEASHORE AREAS OF THE BLACK SEA STATES .......................... 13 2. LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INSTRUMENTS .................................... 15 2.1. INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL

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