LAW OF UKRAINE

of March 22, 2001 No. 2333-III

About approval of the Nation-wide program of protection and reproduction of the environment of the Azov and Black seas

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine decides:

1. Approve the Nation-wide program of protection and reproduction of the environment of the Azov and Black seas it (is applied).

2. This Law becomes effective from the date of its publication.

 

Approved by the Law of Ukraine of March 22, 2001 No. 2333-III

Nation-wide program of protection and reproduction of the environment of the Azov and Black seas

The nation-wide program of protection and reproduction of the environment of the Azov and Black seas (further - the Program) is aimed at providing accomplishment of the Convention on protection of the Black Sea against pollution (1994), the Ministerial declaration on protection of the Black Sea (1993) and the Strategic plan of actions for reproduction and protection of the Black Sea (1996).

The program is intended for assistance of concentration of efforts of all subjects of management and managing of the Azovo-Chernomorsky region on development and implementation of actions on improvement of ecological condition of the Azov and Black seas.

I. TERMS AND DETERMINATIONS

In this Program the following terms and determinations are used:

aquaculture - system of the measures directed to artificial cultivation of valuable plants and animals in the water circle;

the water area - the water space of reservoir or the sea limited to natural, artificial or conditional borders;

biogenic substances - nitrogen ions, phosphorus, silicon, iron, the oxygen and carbon providing processes of life activity of organisms;

pollution sources diffusion - sources of potential intake of the contaminating and biogenic substances in water object by their washout from the catchment area;

pollution sources dot - sources in water object of the contaminating and biogenic substances, caused by their locally certain dumping;

euthrophication - increase in content of biogenic substances in reservoir, defiant rough reproduction of seaweed, decrease in transparency of water and content of dissolved oxygen in deep layers owing to decomposition of organic substance of dead plants and animals, and also mass death of ground organisms;

ecosystem (ecological system) - the natural complex created by live organisms with the conditions of their dwelling connected among themselves by metabolism and energies which form system of the interdependent biotic and abiotic phenomena and processes;

ecosystem bottom-living - ecosystem of bottom of reservoirs and solid anthropogenous substrates (for example, collectors for mollusks in aquaculture, cases of courts, etc.);

marine ecosystem - set of the live marine organisms and the circle of the sea interacting among themselves;

zooplankton - set of the animals living in more thickly sea waters and not capable to actively counteract transfer by currents;

resources biological - biological components of the biosphere which can be used for receipt of material and other benefits by people;

resources recreational - objects and the phenomena of natural and anthropogenous origin used for improvement, rest and tourism;

strip coastal - the site of contact of sushi and the sea including natural complexes of the coast and adjacent sea water area.

II. PURPOSE AND TERMS OF ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE PROGRAM

The purpose of the Program is development of state policy, the strategy and the action plan directed to prevention of increase of anthropogenous pressure upon the environment of the Azov and Black seas, assistance to development of ecologically safe types of activity in the Azovo-Chernomorsky region, preserving and reproduction of biological diversity and resources of the seas, creating favorable conditions for accommodation, improvement and rest of the population.

Subject of the Program is the environment of the Azov and Black seas within internal sea waters, the territorial sea, exclusive (sea) economic zone of Ukraine and coastal strip.

The program implementation is expected the period till 2010 and will be performed in two stages - 2001-2005 and 2006-2010.

At the first stage on the basis of forming and implementation of annual plans of social and economic development of Ukraine implementation of complex of the organizational, normative and legal and scientific and technical measures directed to the solution of the major environmental problems, successful and effective implementation of environmentally friendly technologies, construction of treatment facilities, coast protection, the prevention of landslides, reconstruction of sewer networks is provided.

III. CURRENT ECOLOGICAL STATE OF THE AZOV AND BLACK SEAS

The Azov and Black seas are the seas of the planet which are the most isolated from the World Ocean with catchment basin more than 2 million sq. kilometers.

Territorial waters of Ukraine in the Black Sea borrow 24850 sq. kilometers, and the area of the shelf constitutes about 57 percent of total length of the Black Sea shelf. Within Ukraine there are 14 main estuaries and эстуариев with a total area of 1952 quarter of kilometer, 8 gulfs of 1770 quarter of kilometers, 19 seaside wetlands with a total area of 635 thousand hectares.

The unsatisfactory ecological condition of the Azov and Black seas is caused by the considerable excess of amount of intake of pollutants over assimilatory capability of marine ecosystems which led to rapid development of eutrophication processes, considerable pollution (including microbiological) sea waters, to loss of species, reducing amount of fish resources, decline in quality of recreational resources, emergence of health hazard of the population. The main sources of pollution are drains of the rivers, sewage from point and diffusion coastal sources, sea vehicles.

Point sources of pollution from the industrial enterprises and the companies of household economy located in coastal strip are especially dangerous to ecosystem of the seas. Annually the companies of household economy dump to the Black Sea of more 33,8 of one thousand tons of the weighed substances, 8,8 of one thousand tons of nitrogen, 2,6 of one thousand tons of phosphorus, 24, by one thousand tons of oil products. Deficit of handling capacity of utility treatment facilities of biological cleaning in the cities and the settlements of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, in the cities of Nikolaev, Odessa and Sevastopol makes 273 thousand cubic meters a day. In system of centralized water disposal of settlements of this region of nearly 25 percent of sewer networks are in critical condition.

The special concern causes ecological condition of the Sea of Azov. The main sources of its pollution are 66 industrial enterprises of the city of Mariupol. Azovstal iron and steel works, name of Ilyich, by Azovmash concern annually dumps more than 800 million cubic meters (to 99 percent of total amount of dumpings into the sea) the contaminated sewage.

Essential factor of pollution of the seas are diffusion sources, washout generally from agricultural holdings and the territories of settlements.

Annually with waters of the rivers of Ukraine to the Black Sea 653 thousand tons of the weighed substances, more than 8 thousand tons of organic substances, about 1900 tons of nitrogen and 1200 tons of phosphorus arrive. Especially noticeably the small rivers of the Crimea, Priazovye and Black Sea Coast influence its condition. With drain of the small rivers to basins of the Azov and Black seas 13 percent of phosphoric fertilizers and 6 percent of pesticides are taken out about 11,6 of percent of undigested nitrogen fertilizers.

With activation of national and international navigation the contamination hazard of the marine environment increases, especially when transporting dangerous substances.

Lack of enough proper port installations for warehousing and processing of ecologically dangerous goods, and also the low level of security of sea vehicles with systems of cleaning of household drains and utilization of solid waste lead to considerable pollution of sea water areas and water areas of ports.

The unsatisfactory material security of services of quick response to emergency situations, lack of system of supervision of transportation of dangerous goods in sea waters require development of measures for the prevention of emergence of emergencies and creation of systems of quick response to them both on national, and on international levels.

Within the water protection zone of the Azov and Black seas cumulatively significant amount of solid household and industrial wastes. Technological imperfection of the device of dumps causes pollution of surface and underground water, creates threat of deterioration in sanitary and epidemiologic condition and the state of health of the population, degradation of recreational resources.

Considerable anthropogenous loading during the summer period on some sites of recreational zones leads to violation of natural condition of beaches, the coastal woods, meadows and decrease in their recreational and improving potential.

Movement of large volumes of ground deposits when implementing dredging and dnoochistitelny works in sea water areas leads to degradation of ground biocenoses and marine pollution by the weighed and toxic substances. In 1998 in underwater sea dumps about 2600 cubic meters of soil are dumped.

Imbalance of economic activity led to reduction of food supply, quantity of spawning areas, places of nagul and dwelling of fish and other live water organisms. Irrational production of fish and seafood, unsatisfactory accomplishment of the actions directed to their reproduction entailed reduction of their biological productivity and impoverishment of specific structure. The situation is complicated by introduction into ecosystem of the seas of the harmful exotic organisms oppressing development and reproduction local florae and faunae of the Azov and Black seas.

The main pollutants of the marine environment are oil products, especially within water areas of ports. So, in the Odessa, Ilyichevsk and Kerch ports content of oil products in water exceeds threshold limit value (further - maximum allowable concentration) in time 1,5-2.

Concentration of oil products in the Sea of Azov exceeds maximum allowable concentration by 10 times here and there.

The Sevastopol bays are most contaminated by oil products that is considerably connected with activities of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation. In recent years in bays Southern, Cane, Holland, Quarantine and Northern content of oil products in blankets of the sea exceeds maximum allowable concentration on average at 3-10 times.

Pollution of coastal areas of the Black Sea synthetic surfactants in zone of influence of municipal treatment facilities exceeds maximum allowable concentration by 2-3 times.

Increase in content of organochlorine pesticides and the polychlorinated biphenyls during the spring period on estuarial sections of the rivers is observed.

Considerable concentration of heavy metals (copper, chrome, lead, cobalt, zinc, cadmium, strontium and others), periodic receipts of caesium-137 in surface water of east and central parts of the Black Sea take place. In recent years concentration of radonid in the Sea of Azov exceeds maximum allowable concentration in time 12,6, content of phenols exceeds standard rates by 7 times.

Despite considerable reducing amount of use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides in agricultural industry, the average content of phosphorus in waters of the Azov and Black seas fluctuates from 10-40 mkg/l near the southern coast of the Crimea to 600 mkg/l in the Danube Delta. In the Sea of Azov content of nitrogen fluctuates from 20-28 to 400 mkg/l.

In recent years pollution of sea water conditionally pathogenic and pathogenic microflora increases that led to profound changes in ecosystems of the seas and in coastal strip, namely:

level of transparency of water decreased more than twice (to 2-8 m);

the hypoxia zone in the Black Sea extended from 3 to 40 thousand sq. kilometers;

the area of zones of blossoming increased in northwest part of the Black Sea by 20 times in comparison with the 60th years;

the quantity of unicells and jellyfishes, and also harmful exotic organisms (for the beginning of the 90th years general biomass of the immigrant of rebroplav Mnemiopsis leidei in the basin of the Black Sea was estimated at 1 billion tons) increased;

width of strip of area of macrophytes of coastal shallow water was reduced to 3-5 meters;

considerably marine biological resources decreased;

practically populations of the highest Crustacea and benthonic fishes disappeared and populations of large planktonic Crustacea were significantly reduced;

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