Chapter III The Regional Legal Framework for the Protection and Preservation of the Black Sea Marine Environment

Abstract

One of the most important outcomes of the dissolution of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was the heightened international attention directed towards the serious environmental decline in the Black Sea. The regional approach to protection of the marine environment was institutionalized by United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) with the UNEP Regional Seas Programme in 1974 with some 18 programmes established since that time. In order to assess the existing Black Sea regional governance structure for protection of the marine environment, a comparison with the Mediterranean Sea, Baltic Sea and the North-East Atlantic can show where gaps exist and provide guidance assessing what measures should be adopted by the Black Sea States to create an effective, robust regime of co-operation for protection of the Black Sea in accordance with the principles and standards sustainable oceans governance.Keywords: Black Sea Marine Environment; international law; regional legal framework; Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR); United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP); World Trade Agreement (WTO)