Black Sea as a Regional Environmental Problem Area
Volume 3
The continuity of industrialization-urbanization, which intensified and accelerated in the second half of the twentieth century, has brought many problems to us today, regardless of ideological distinctions such as socialist and capitalist. Environmental problems are one of the most important and the most global (Eumen 2001:248).
After 1990, the change in the structure and nature of the former Soviet Union and the process of gaining the independence of the former Republics were seen as the problems of all systems and humanity, not only the capitalist system. Besides the example of Caspian and Aral Lake, especially
The pollution of the Black Sea is a clear proof of this. Surrounded by many countries with its developed-developing and socialist or liberal economy practitioners, the Black Sea stands today with a rapidly increasing environmental pollution. As a whole, the environmental problems of the Black Sea have already exceeded the local level and have become relevant on many regional and global issues.
What is to be done at this point is an understanding of international cooperation and global cooperation, regardless of who is responsible, and the implementation of it. However, as much as these understandings and efforts are implemented, we can be hopeful for our common future (Eumen 2000:18). These efforts range from the administrations of countries in the region to international and regional organizations. Especially in the countries of the region, the efforts of voluntary organizations operating in relation to the environment, both at the local level and in terms of regional cooperation, are very important in terms of the issue.
First of all, environmental problems in the Black Sea can arise in international qualities as well as from countries with these seafronts, both at sea and on the coasts. The Black Sea, which has been attacked by both soil, sea and air pollution, has been wrecked by civil war on one side and is trapped in the middle of one of its biggest political and economic transformations, the world’s dirtiest sea, is dying in agony.
This sea, which has been world famous since the times of Ovid and Herodotus with its hard waves and harsher people, has become one of the most efficient water sources in the world and has become a dump for half of Europe in the last 30 years. It has been a giant dump for phosphorus, inorganic nitrogen, oil, mercury and DDT, produced by approximately 160 million people in the Black Sea basin(The Washington Post 1994). An important point here is the fact that regional and international factors originating especially from Europe have a very important place as well as the 6 countries that have a coast in the pollution that occurs in the Black Sea of various qualities. The issue has transcends the countries on the seafront and has become a regional and international problem. The Danube river, which originates from Central Europe and flows into the Black Sea, reaches the Black Sea with the excessive dirt of the Central and Eastern European industry and threatens the Danube Delta, which has a beauty rich in both plants and living varieties. In this context, the Black Sea is characterized by most observers as an environmental disaster.
The main body of the Black Sea contains a 90% oxygen-free environment and is almost dead. Industry on the north, west and south coasts, industry in the Danube hinterland and the industrial zone along ukraine’s Dynaper River are the main causes of coastal pollution.
The death of the sea body and pollution caused the loss of 21 species of fish of commercial value. The Main-Danube canal, which opened in September 1992, established the Danube-Rhinder connection and, as a result, the North Sea-Black Sea connection between Rotterdam and Constanta. On the other hand, waterway transportation in the former Soviet Union is likely to land in the Black Sea, and the use of this waterway transport in the trade of countries in the Caspian Basin with the Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean countries, and the domestic trade movement, which is also expected to increase in the Black Sea, will exacerbate environmental stress. This expected development will also adversely affect the Straits, the only exit of the Black Sea, an inland sea, to the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas (Göknel 1998:18).
While the situation of the Straits connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean sea constitutes an important problem between Russia and Turkey, on the other hand, the fact that all the main ports around the Black Sea are heavily polluted also stands as a new problem area. This forces the two countries to work together under a $750 million improvement master plan from international sources (Land 1999:230). Indeed, for years, the Turkish maritime authorities have been trying to draw attention to the catastrophe that could occur for the Bosphorus and Istanbul with the increasing number of large oil tankers (Frantz 2001: A.5). This disaster threatens all countries in the region, especially in environmental terms.
Author: Serdar Yener – Sinop University – Turkey
