ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION - Pabsec

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

One of the most dramatic problems facing the Black Sea region today is the degradation and pollution of the environment and, first and foremost, of the Black Sea itself. The magnitude of the problem is so vast that it calls for urgent concerted actions. A multi-dimensional regional and international effort is carried out by a variety of organizations. On its part, the Assembly, advocating the environmental sustainability as a significant factor of the economic development of the countries in the region, adopted the report and the recommendation on Black Sea Environmental Health (rec. 5/1994), reiterating its determination to make the best use of all opportunities for expanding cooperation on the Black Sea environmental issues.

In 1996, an Inter-Parliamentary Conference on the Black Sea Environmental Protection was jointly organized in Istanbul by the PABSEC and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, with the participation of parliamentarians from 24 countries, representatives of regional and international organizations, as well as prominent international experts. The Conference adopted a Final Declaration emphasizing the urgent need for international cooperation and action to save the Black Sea environment.

At the same time, the Assembly is determined to provide further support to the GEF Black Sea Environment Programme, which came into being as a result of the Bucharest Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea against Pollution (1992) and the Odessa Ministerial Declaration (1993) of the six Black Sea coastal states. A ministerial conference, held in Istanbul in October 1996, approved the Black Sea Strategic Action Plan, which outlined activities to be carried out within the next two decades by the six coastal countries and competent international organizations, as well as by third countries that contribute to the pollution and degradation of the Black Sea.

Taking into account that environmental problems continue to pose a serious threat for sustainable development in the Black Sea region, the PABSEC decided to address the new challenges of the Black Sea environmental protection (rec. 49/2001), such as setting up an enabling legal framework and harmonizing environmental standards; addressing administrative and financial barriers to environmental protection; implementing existing environmental regulations and projects through locally, nationally and regionally coordinated actions.

Efficient and effective cooperation aimed at preservation and protection of the regional environment, within the framework of the concept of sustainable development, and maintenance of normal ecological conditions is a duty of every BSEC Member State, as it was mentioned in the Recommendation on Economic Aspects of Resolving Environmental Problems in the BSEC Member States (rec.81/2005).

PABSEC is fully aware that global climate change (rec.99/2007) poses a serious threat to the future of the planet, endangers socio-economic progress in the region and requires sustained and concerted high level attention. The Assembly is committed to contribute to further the dialogue to address climate change under the existing international instruments and to work with all members of the international community for an enduring global solution to climate change with due regard to specific national and regional development priorities, objectives and circumstances.