STRATEGY
of the marine protected areas network development in the coastal water of Ukrainian
part of the Black Sea
Purpose and task of the Strategy
The Strategy is aimed at the development of a network of protected areas in the internal sea
waters, territorial sea and exclusive economic zone of Ukraine with a view of preserving
biodiversity of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, restoring their biotic resources and recreational
value (at least 10 per cent of the Ukrainian part of the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea,
respectively).
The main tasks of the Strategy are:
 Establishment of new and extension of the existing water protected sites, development of
scientific basics to determine the elements of marine environment protection network and
implementation of their effective management.
 Formation of the regulatory and legal base for marine environmentally protected sites with
due account of their features.
 Provision of efficient cooperation between various branches of marine industry and marine
environmentally protected sites with a view of increasing and improving biological and
recreational resources of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
 Enhancement of international cooperation in establishing a network of environmentally
protected marine sites.
 Formation of ecological consciousness and public involvement in protection and
conservation of marine biodiversity.
Principal Directions of the Strategy
The principal directions to accomplish the Strategy are:
 Scientifically substantiated definition of the list of promising marine environmentally
protected sites and approximate deadlines of their establishment.
 Improvement of the legal and regulatory framework to appraise the impact of business
activity on the ecosystems of the defined environmentally protected sites in accordance
with the particular marine uses.
 Improvement of the ecological component of the legal and regulatory framework of the
fishing industry with a view of enhancing the liability for restoration and adjustment of
spawning and feeding grounds of young fish, location of sea farming enterprises and
coordination of environmental measures to prevent a negative impact upon marine
environment.
 Improvement of the ecological component of the legal and regulatory framework of the
transport industry, in particular, ballast water control, penetration of alien species, pollution
and littering of internal sea water areas, territorial sea, and exclusive economic zone of the
Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, control of small craft uses, handling of wastes accumulated
during dredging, financial support of scientific monitoring of the appearance of alien
species.
 Improvement of the legal and regulatory framework, rules and restraints concerning such
land-based activities as tourism, and strengthening responsibility for littering and pollution
of water areas, noise pollution and ruination of the coastal marine ecosystems and shorebased ecosystems.
 Improvement of the legal and regulatory framework of the oil-and-gas production industry,
methodological approaches to the assessment of the anthropogenic impact upon the
environment and financial support of monitoring of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov
ecosystems status.
 Development and implementation of plans for preserving marine species and communities
which enter, respectively, the Red Book of Ukraine and the Green Book of Ukraine, and the
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international lists of marine species that either require protection or are disappearing, as
well as the species which are included in Annex 2 (Protocol on protection of biodiversity
and landscapes of the Black Sea) to the Convention on protection of the Black Sea against
pollution.
Development of procedures and rules for organization and functioning of marine
environmentally protected transboundary sites and strengthening of international
cooperation aimed at the formation of the Black Sea environment protection network.
Development and implementation of the principles of sea zoning and integrated
management of coastal zones and water areas.
Development and implementation of economic incentives for ecological insurance and
mechanisms to compensate the incurred damage.
Establishment of a system of professional training and advanced training of specialists with
due account of the specific character and functioning of the marine environment protection
network.
Scheduled holding of educational and information campaigns and measures for the public.
Financial Support
Financial support of the formation and further functioning of the marine environmental protection
network should be accomplished at the expense of:
 national and local budgets;
 State and regional environment protection funds;
 ecological component of industry programs;
 attracted private capital and private-public partnership;
 attracted funds of the international organizations;
 charitable donations;
 other sources not prohibited by the Law.
Implementation Stages of the Strategy
The first stage of the Strategy accomplishment (2011–2013):
 Completion of the scientific substantiation of the establishment of the marine environment
protection network nodes.
 Development of the legal and regulatory framework for all elements of the marine
environment protection network.
 Assignment of boundaries of the marine environmentally protected sites in accordance with
the legally established procedure.
 Improvement of the ecological component of the legal and regulatory framework of marine
uses and their interaction with the marine environmentally protected sites.
 Development and implementation of the scientifically substantiated economic efficiency
figures illustrating the marine environment protection network development.
 Development of principles of the private-public partnership in establishing the marine
environment protection network.
 Improvement of human resourcing for managing the marine environment protection
network.
The second stage of the Strategy accomplishment (2014–2020):
 Completion of the formation of the costal protection belts of seas and limans which function
as ecological corridors.
 Provision of effective coordination of all branches of the marine industry and marine
environmentally protected sites with a view of preserving biodiversity and increasing and
improvement of the biological and recreational resources of the Black Sea and the Sea of
Azov.
 Securing implementation of sustainable funding mechanisms for performance of the marine
environment protection network.
During the first and second stages the following tasks will be achieved:
 Organization and execution of the fundamental scientific research works to appraise the
ecosystem condition and determine the status of marine biotic species conservation,
definition of the particularly valuable, from the biological viewpoint, potential environment
protection areas in the internal sea waters, the territorial sea and the exclusive marine zone
of Ukraine in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
 Organization and execution of monitoring to determine criteria and indicators for
assessment of biodiversity of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov and the economic
efficiency of organizing the marine environment protection network.
 Organization and holding educational campaigns for wider population and informing the
public on the advantages of biodiversity preservation and the responsibility for its ruination.
 Establishment of the national geographical and information system of the marine
environment protection network.
Legal Aspects
The Project has been developed on the basis of the legal and regulatory framework which is
defined by:
 the Constitution of Ukraine;
 international obligations of Ukraine in the sphere of management of natural resources and
protection of the environment;
 Law of Ukraine «On protection of the environment";
 "Concept of the national ecological policy of Ukraine for the period until 2020" approved by
the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dd 17.10.07, No. 880-р;
 "Main guidelines of the national policy in the field of environment protection, use of natural
resources and provision of ecological safety" approved by the Resolution of the Supreme
Rada of Ukraine dd March 5, 1998;
 other legal and regulatory enactments.
The existing legal and regulatory documents do not sufficiently cover the issue of the formation and
accomplishment of the national ecological policy, coordinated activity of the state and the public in
this sphere is not provided for with due account of the economy globalization, development of
market conditions in the country, etc. Legislative regulation of the decisions reached by the Kyiv
Conference of the Ministers of Environment «Environment for Europe» (2003), the World Summit
for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg (2002) and provisions of the other international
obligations of Ukraine in the sphere of environmental protection are not legally finalized.
The draft Strategy should also be viewed as a launching site for further development and
accomplishment of a set of environmental measures via development of the National Action Plans
for Environmental Protection.
Financial Feasibility Study
Detailed financial and economic calculations for accomplishing the draft Strategy provisions will be
made when developing the draft Strategy accomplishment mechanism proper – the National Action
Plan for Environmental Protection for a relevant period. It is envisaged to finance the measures in
advance out of the state and local budgets as well as from other sources. The budget financing
scope will be determined on an annual basis when preparing the draft State Budget of Ukraine for
the relevant year.
Expected Results
Accomplishment of the Strategy will facilitate:
 to preserve the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov key ecosystems, genetic fund of the
aboriginal species, cetaceans, valuable species of fish, etc.;
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to prevent further ruination of sea natural landscapes and to restore disturbed ecosystems;
to create favourable environment for renewal of the critically endangered biotic species and
areas of their habitat;
to enhance biotic resource potential, including fish stock;
to improve recreational value of the costal strip.
Implementation Indicators
Main target indicators and figures illustrating effective implementation of the Strategy:
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conservation of ecosystems, biotic species and ecological network development;
number of species nearing extinction;
area and number of marine protected areas;
number of new alien species.
Assurance of the ecosystem approach to all kinds of anthropogenic activities as regards protection
of marine biodiversity, specifically those connected with exploitation of marine resources, by
implementing ecologically balanced kinds of practical activity and support of those biological
resources which govern life standards, provision of food and public health of the people residing in
the coastal zone:
 catch of fish, thou tons;
 restoration of marine ecosystem (at the 1960 level as regards biodiversity), formation of the
ecological network (comprising 10% of the water area);
 improvement of life quality in the region and recreational attraction, higher ecological
awareness of the region population, advent of the ecological approach to business
activities;
 full-scale implementation of provisions contained in the international and national legal and
regulatory documents as regards the living component of marine environment and set-up of
the institutional support of such implementation.
Forecast of Social and Economic Results to Be Achieved by the Strategy
Accomplishment of the Strategy is aimed at achieving the following changes in the marine
ecological policy and condition of the marine environment:
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establishment of the branching marine ecological network and termination of a loss of
marine biodiversity as it makes a strategic resource for the national economy development;
development of scientific principles for determining the marine environment protection
network elements and formation of the legal and regulatory framework;
stabilization and improvement of the marine environment condition to a safe level in order
to ensure the life-sustaining activity of population, facilitation of the ecologically balanced
system of the use of natural resources and provision of efficient cooperation among various
branches of uses of the sea and marine environmentally protected sites with a view of
enhancement and improvement of biological and recreational resources of the Black Sea
and the Sea of Azov;
facilitation of implementation of the efficient system for informing the public on marine
environment protection and marine ecological policy in general in the context of the
ecologically balanced development;
strengthening of international cooperation in establishing a network of marine
environmentally protected sites.