Implementing Ecosystem Based Management approaches in the Black Sea LME

Enhancing Marine and Coastal Protected Area national and regional management and adoption of Blue Economy approaches in the Black Sea to support long-term sustainable livelihoods derived from ecosystem services.

The Black Sea LME is a semi enclosed sea, connected to the world ocean only through narrow Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits, and to the shallow Sea of

Azov by the Kerch Strait in the north. The LME covers a surface area of about 460,150 km , including the Sea of Azov, of which 2.21% is protected. The northwestern

part of the Black Sea is shallow but in other places its waters reach a depth of more than 2,200 m. The Black Sea catchment area entirely or partly

extends over 18 countries: Austria, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Moldova, Serbia, Slovakia,

Slovenia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine -- about one third of the area of continental Europe and containing in excess of 160 million people. Every year,

Europe’s largest rivers, (the Danube, Dnieper and Don) carry about 350 km of river water into the Black Sea. As a consequence of its almost landlocked nature

and lack of circulation in its deep waters, the LME is particularly vulnerable to environmental stresses originating from human activities in the catchment area.

A strong density strati􀂦cation, which effectively inhibits vertical mixing, results in permanent anoxia within almost 90% of the Black Sea’s volume (below 200

m), making this LME the largest anoxic basin of the global ocean. The deep anoxic layer, with its high hydrogen sulphide content, is a ‘dead’ zone. Marine life is

con􀂦ned to the upper layer, while the bottom is void of invertebrates and 􀂦sh in most parts of the Black Sea. The structure of the Black Sea ecosystem differs

from that of the neighbouring Mediterranean Sea in that species variety is lower and the dominant groups are different. However, the abundance, total

biomass and productivity of the Black Sea are much higher than in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Black Sea has undertaken assessments of the transboundary problems and their causes (through a Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis - a TDA) leading

to Strategic Action Programme (SAP) in 1996 and 2009. Subsequently the countries of the Black Sea with the support of the Black Sea Commission (BSC)

have prepared a State of the Environment Report (2009 - 2015)[1]. This SoE report will be updated for the period 2015- 2020 and the results will be further

assessed for the revision of the Black Sea SAP through a reassessment of the transboundary problems and their causes.

This Black Sea SoE Report is the third assessment prepared by the BSC), were supported by various international projects, such as SESAME, PERSEUS,

KnowSeas, PEGASO, MISIS, EMBLAS (I and II), EMODNet etc., and national initiatives. It also refers to and utilizes relevant publications prepared for the Black

Sea by various experts working in the Black Sea basin and beyond.

The report was prepared in accordance with outline of the report which incorporated both existing approaches to ocean assessment - UN World Ocean

Assessment approach (also called Regular Process) and European approach re􀂧ecting provisions of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD).