site.bta"Further Efforts Needed" to Protect Black Sea

More efforts are needed to protect the Black Sea, although much has been done already, Radostina Tsenova of the Burgas office of the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation told BTA in an interview occasioned by International Black Sea Action Day, October 31.

The holiday has been celebrated by the Black Sea countries Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkiye and Ukraine every year since 1996. It was established at a meeting of the six countries' environment ministers in Istanbul, Turkiye. International Black Sea Action Day is aimed at raising the awareness of the international community about the need for regional cooperation to protect the sea which separates Europe from Asia.

Biological diversity

Biodiversity in the Black Sea is not as rich as in other parts of the world ocean due to lower salinity, lower water temperatures and lower oxygen content resulting from high levels of hydrogen sulphide. Nonetheless, this body of water is home to about 3,700 species of marine organisms, mainly invertebrates and plants. It has 170 fish species, four mammals and 175 sponges, Tsenova said.

She deplored the loss of biodiversity over the last few decades, which she described as "disturbing". One example is the monk seal, a former icon of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, last sighted here in 1995. Its disappearance is attributed to chases by fishermen, changing habitats and reduced food resources.

Dolphins have been treated ambivalently over the years, Tsenova said. In the 1960s, they were killed on a mass scale for their fat, which was used as an ingredient in pharmaceutical products and industrial lubricants. The dolphin's skin went into the making of various consumer goods. Its meat was used as food and bait and for the production of glue.

Even though dolphin hunting has been banned in Bulgaria, Russia (formerly the Soviet Union) and Romania since 1966 and in Turkiye since 1983, experts say the dolphin population is endangered.

Tsenova also singled out seagrass as another important element of biodiversity. Conservationists warn that this plant, which used to be quite widespread, has been adversely affected by external factors. Its most important property is perhaps carbon sequestration, the ability to quickly capture and store atmospheric carbon dioxide. Seagrass does it 35 times as quickly as tropical forests.

Threats and challenges

Tsenova pointed to several problems related to Black Sea pollution. This sea is almost completely enclosed and has a large drainage basin, which makes its ecosystems highly vulnerable.

Environmental challenges include the use of inorganic fertilizers, excessive harvesting of marine organisms, construction and dredging activities which damage the sea floor, and the spread of invasive plant and animal species. Climate change is also on the list. One of the greatest pollution threats has to do with the discharge of the rivers emptying into the sea. Historically, it caused the first major disruption of the marine ecosystems.

The drainage basin includes 22 countries, which means that water flowing from these countries can reach the Black Sea with all the pollutants it carries, mainly nitrogen, phosphorus, inorganic fertilizers and urban wastewater. The whole drainage basin was a region of intensive industrial and agricultural activity until the 1980s.

Nowadays, pollution levels are drastically lower thanks to the measures taken and international agreements signed. As members of the European Union, two of the Black Sea countries, Bulgaria and Romania, have rigorous obligations in this respect. The same cannot be said of Russia, Ukraine and Turkiye.

With a war raging in Ukraine, pollution levels in the Black Sea are being monitored constantly. Additional monitoring sites have been designated. Tsenova finds it important to have confidence in the competent institutions, which, she said, are doing a very good job.

The damage to dunes on Black Sea beaches is yet another threat, the expert said. She warned of "interests" wanting to see the dunes along the Bulgarian coastline completely cleared for construction purposes. Tsenova noted that the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation has launched a dune protection campaign called dJUNEs, which involves building wooden walkways to minimize the damage to habitats in such areas and funding legal action to protect the last remaining dunes.

The people and the sea

Although environmentalists are trying to draw public attention to the need for protecting the Black Sea, Tsenova worries that this is not enough. She noted that children who live by the sea do not usually have a strong bond with it. Few of them practice marine sports or have travelled by boat or ship. They are unaware of the properties of the sea and its species.

Therefore, the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation is set on providing relevant information to the public and is working under various initiatives to educate young people and encourage them to become friends with the sea and seaside lakes.

On the occasion of International Black Sea Action Day, the Foundation organized a series of events such as a commemoration of journalist Tsvetelina Atanassova, who photographed much of the underwater landscape in the Black Sea, and the press-launch of the book My Black Sea, which features descriptions and photos of some species and has QR codes for access to short videos made by Atanassova.

On November 3, the Black Sea Institute will host a national roundtable titled The Sea: A Boundary or a Gateway. Tsenova hopes that a new film about "the people of the Black Sea", produced and directed by Dimana Shishkova, is released soon.