Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against ...bssupgrade.oceaninfo.ru/library/files/40940.pdfAbout the Conference 1 Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against

About the Conference

1

Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution

The First Biannual Scientific Conference Black Sea Ecosystem 2005 and Beyond 8 – 10 May, 2006

Proceedings Istanbul Turkey

Contents

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CONTENTS About the Conference .................................................................... 5 Welcoming Speech of the Minister of Environment and Forestry, Turkey ........................................................................... 7 Opening Speech of the Chairman of the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution ............................... 9 About the Awarded Persons and Their Articles ............................ 13 Scientific Priorities As Perceived by the Black Sea Scientific Community ................................................................................. 15 Photo gallery .............................................................................. 23 Contents ..................................................................................... 25

Volume I......................................................................................33 Session 1 Oceanography ....................................................... 34 Horizontal and Vertical Exchange in the Black Sea: New Results ....................................................................................... 35

Andrei Zatsepin et al ............................................................................................35 Impact of Kamchia River Discharge on the Coastal Zone Water Quality ............................................................................. 52 State of the Carbonate System of Waters and Abundance of Organic Carbon in the Sediments of Sevastopol Bay (Black Sea) ............................................................................................ 56

Olga Ignatyeva et al. ............................................................................................56 Impact of the Large-Scale Atmospheric Forcing on Long-Term Variability of Surface Temperature in the Black Sea.......... 70

Alexander Kazmin & Andrei Zatsepin ..................................................................70 Dynamics of Total Suspended Matter on the Southern Coast of the Black Sea ......................................................................... 81

Abdulaziz Guneroglu et al. ...................................................................................81 Nutrients in the Western Black Sea Area. Spatial and Vertical Distribution ................................................................... 93

Anton Krastev et al. ..............................................................................................93 Dissolved and Particulate Forms of Manganese and Iron in the Redox Zone of the Black Sea ............................................... 106

Svetlana Pakhomova, Alexander Rozanov .........................................................106 Decadal - Scale Variability of Black Sea Winter Pycnocline and Circulation Tendencies....................................................... 122

Аlexander Polonskii, E.A. Lovenkova .................................................................122 The Suboxic Zone on the North-Western Continental Slope in Comparison With Other Regions of the Black Sea.................. 129

Alexander Romanov et al....................................................................................129 On the Fine Structure of the Redox Zone in the Black Sea......... 140

Pavel Stunzhas et al. ..........................................................................................140 Interdecadal Variability of Temperature and Salinity in the Black Sea ................................................................................. 153

Irina Shokurova & Vladimir Belokopytov ...........................................................153

Contents The 1st Biannual Scientific Conference: The Black Sea Ecosystem 2005 and Beyond

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Suspended Matter and Its Organic Components in the Western Black Sea.................................................................... 162

Galina Shtereva et al. .........................................................................................162 Biophysical Methods in the Biological Oceanography of the Black Sea: State and Perspectives............................................. 172

Yuriy Tokarev .....................................................................................................172 Climate/Weather Extremes in the Black Sea Region .................. 189

Elena Voskresenskaya et al. ..............................................................................189 E. Voskresenskaya, N. Mickailova .....................................................................189

Observational Studies of Nutrient Loads on the Black Sea With Atmospheric Precipitations............................................... 199

Alla Chaykina et al.............................................................................................199 Assessment of Large Scale Eutrophication Driven Oxygen Depletion Risk in the Black Sea ................................................ 210

Wolfram Schrimpf et al. ......................................................................................210 Inter-Annual Variability of the Cold Intermediate Layer (CIL) and the Upper Boundary of Hydrogen Sulphide Zone (HSZ) in the North-Eastern Part of the Black Sea from 1990 to 2005......................................................................................... 226

V.G. Yakubenko et al. .........................................................................................226 Session 2, 3: Pollution, Contamination of Biota and Geology............................................................................... 243 Levels of Some Toxic Metals in Marine Algae From the Turkish Coast of the Black Sea, Turkey .................................... 244

Gulsen Altug .......................................................................................................244 Estimated Levels of Marine Litter Pollution in the Ukrainian Black Sea and Coastal Environment ......................................... 250

Alexei Birkun, Jr. & Sergey Krivokhizhin ..........................................................250 Hazardous Substances Input Into the Black Sea - Sulina Area- From Danube Waters in 2005........................................... 258

Coatu Valentina et al. .........................................................................................258 Metal and Heavy Metal Levels in Mussels (Mytilus Galloprovinciali ) Obtained From Eastern Black Sea, Turkey..... 268

Nevzat Damla et al. ............................................................................................268 N. Damla et al.....................................................................................................268

Grain Size Distribution and Heavy Metal Accumulation of the South Eastern Black Sea Coastal Sediments ....................... 274

Coskun Eruz .......................................................................................................274 Anadara Inaequvalvis Hemolymph Parametrs As Biomarkers of Benthic Communities Acute Pollution in the Example of Black Sea North Caucasian Coast ........................... 281

G.A. Kolyuchkina et al......................................................................................................281 Hydrogen Sulfide, Phosphate and Silicic Acid in Bottom Waters near Black Sea Mud Volcanoes ...................................... 291

Sergey Kondratyev .............................................................................................291 Satellite Mapping of Oil Spills in the Black Sea ........................ 303

D. Tarchi et al. ....................................................................................................303

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Modern Level of Anthropogenous Pollution of the Northeasten Part of the Black Sea ............................................ 316

I. G. Korpakova & A. A. Klenkin .........................................................................316 Methodology for A New Integrated Estimation of Impurity of Bottom Sediments..................................................................... 325

I.G. Korpakova et al............................................................................................325 Session 4: Radioactivity...................................................... 332 XX Years of Radioecological Response Studies of the Black Sea To the Chernobyl NPP Accident: A Grand Total ................... 333

V.N. Egorov .........................................................................................................333 Distribution of Natural Radioelement 210po in Bottom Sediments of the Black Sea....................................................... 355

G. E. Lazorenko et al. .........................................................................................355 Content of Naturally Occuring Radionuclide 210po in the Black Sea Mollusks................................................................... 364

G.E. Lazorenko et al. ..........................................................................................364 Monitoring of Artificial Radionuclides in the Marine Environment of the Russian Coast of the Black Sea: Results Obtained During 2004-2005...................................................... 373

A. I. Nikitin et al. .................................................................................................373 Radioactivity Assessment in the Romanian Sector of the Black Sea by Mytilus galloprovincialis...................................... 382

Vasile Patrascu & Claudia Puscasu ...................................................................382 Session 5 Biodiversity, Ecophysiology ................................ 386 Selected Results of Cetacean Research and Conservation Activities in Ukraine ................................................................. 387

Sergey Krivokhizhin and Alexei Birkun, Jr.........................................................387 Black Sea Cetaceans: An Overview of Research and Conservation Aspects ................................................................ 395

Alexei Birkun, Jr. ................................................................................................395 Antibiotic Resistant Strains & Bacterial Metabolic Activity in the Western Black Sea, Turkey ............................................. 405

Gulsen Altug Isik Onac Icoz................................................................................405 1 Gulsen Altug 2Isık Onac-Icoz ...........................................................................405

Evolution of the Marine Biodiversity Status at the Romanian Black Sea Coast As a Result of Anthropogenic Modifications in the Last Decades............................................. 413

Valeria Abaza et al. ............................................................................................413 Present State of the Cumacean (Crustacea - Cumacea) Populations From the North Western Black Sea......................... 430

Tatiana Begun ....................................................................................................430 Seabird and Waterfowl Population on the Peninsula of B. Utrish ....................................................................................... 439

Timofey Barabashin ...........................................................................................439 Light Absorption and Quantum Yield of Photosynthesis During Autumn Phytoplankton Bloom in the Western Black Sea........................................................................................... 445


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Tatiana Churilova et al. ......................................................................................445 Aspects of the Formation of Plankton and Bottom Communities Within the Ukrainian Shelf of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov in Winter (M/V“Vladimir Parshin”, January 2005) .......................................................................... 462

Derezyuk N .........................................................................................................462 Weekly Changes of Synechococcus Spp. And Pigment Concentration in the Southeastern Black Sea Coast.................. 466

Ali Muzaffer Feyzioglu et al. ...............................................................................466 Photosynthetic Characteristics of Phytoplankton in the Western Black Sea During Autumn Bloom ................................. 475

Z. Finenko ...........................................................................................................475 Space-Time Variations of Stable Isotope (Δ13c & δ15n) Signature of Danube Waters and Marine Communities on the Black Sea Romanian Coasts................................................ 490

Bănaru Daniela et al. .........................................................................................490 The Contemporary State of Development of Free-Living Nematodes of the Northwestern Black Sea ................................ 502

Irina Kulakova ....................................................................................................502 Impact of Long-Term Changes of the Sea of Azov Ecosystem on the Fish-Eating Birds (Change of Trophic Niche, Accumulation of Environmental Toxicants) ............................... 526

Natalia V. Lebedeva ...........................................................................................526 The Anthropogenic Impact on the Zooplankton Sructure in Particular on the Copepoda Group in Batumi Bay ..................... 531

Makharadze Guranda, Khalvashi Mery .............................................................531 Biodiversity and Conservation of Decapod Crustaceans From the Rocky Coast of the Romanian Black Sea .................... 535

Sanziana Micu ....................................................................................................535 Profiling Oxygen in Association With Acoustically Inferred Diel Vertical Migration of Two Zooplankton species in the Black Sea ................................................................................. 543

Erhan Mutlu........................................................................................................543 Changes in the Ostracoda (Crustacea) Populations in the North-Western Black Sea........................................................... 556

Opreanu Priscila .................................................................................................556 Present State of Polychaeta Worms Populations in the Nw Black Sea ................................................................................. 566

Gabriela – Mihaela Paraschiv .............................................................................566 Present-Day State of Microphytobenthos of Silt Ground of Nord-Caucasian Region of Coastal Zone Black Sea. ................... 580

F.V. Sapozhnikov, P.P. Shirshov .........................................................................580 Macrophytobenthos Evolution Under Present Environmental Quality of Romanian Black Sea Coastal Waters As To Earlier Decades ........................................................................ 582

Daciana Sava & Alexandru S. Bologa ................................................................582

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Gametogenic Cycle, Settlement and Growth of Mussel (Mytilus Galloprovincialis, Lam., 1819) in Southeastern Black Sea ................................................................................. 596

Şebnem A. Sahin et al. .......................................................................................596 The Structural–Functional Organization of Zoobenthos Under Permanent Anthropogenic Impact (Case Study: Sevastopol Bay, Crimea)............................................................ 608

N.K. Revkov et al. ...............................................................................................608 Present State of Mussel Population (Mytilus Galloprovincialis) From the North-West Black Sea..................... 628

Nina Shurova & Marian-Traian Gomoiu .............................................................628 Phytoplankton Growth and Zooplankton Grazing in the Western Black Sea in September - October 2005........................ 639

Ludmila Stelmakh & Süleyman Tuğrul...............................................................639 Bacterioplankton Community Structure: First in Situ Investigation in the Romanian Black Sea Coastal Waters (2004) ....................................................................................... 652

Elena STOICA .....................................................................................................652 Hydrozoa in the Nw-W Region of the Black Sea ......................... 660

Adrian Teacă ......................................................................................................660 Present state of the Amphipods (Crustacea – Amphipoda) populations associated to the deep-sea sedimentary substratum of the North Western Black Sea .............................. 673 Present State of the Macrozoobenthos in the South-East of the Georgian Black Sea............................................................. 689

M.Varshanidze Mickashavidze E., .....................................................................689 Contemporary state of the benthic zone of the western part of the Black Sea according to meiobenthos indices ................... 695

Ludmyla V. Vorobyova .......................................................................................695 Investigations on Chamelea Gallina, L. (Mollusca, Veneridae Rafinesque, 1815) Along the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast ........... 706

Elitsa Petrova1, Stoyko Stoykov2 ........................................................................706 Structure and Variety of Phytoplankton of the Azov and Black Seas................................................................................ 721

Prof. Stanislav P. Volovik ....................................................................................721 Ecological State Assessment of Zoobenthic Communities on the North-Western Black Sea Shelf – the Performance of Multivariate and Univariate Approaches ................................... 726

Valentina Todorova and Tsenka Konsulova.......................................................726 State and Trends of Zooplankton Community in the Coastal Black Sea Ecosystems of Varna and Sevastopol Bays ................ 743

K. Stefanova et al. ..............................................................................................743 Macrophytobenthos Productivity and Its Resources in the North-Caucasian Coastal Area of the Black Sea ........................ 762

Dmitry F. Afanas’ev............................................................................................762 Database Software, Digital Library and Other Programming Tools Designed for Research and Conservation of Black Sea cetaceans ................................................................................. 768


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Katerina Kosova et al. ........................................................................................768 Round Table Discussion Minutes ............................................... 773 Conservation Plan for Black Sea Cetaceans (CPBSC): General approach, goals, objectives and aims of the actions proposed................................................................................... 785

Alexei Birkun, Jr. ................................................................................................785 Round Table on the Conservation of the Black Sea Cetaceans ................................................................................. 798

Volume II...................................................................................804 Session 6: Fisheries ............................................................ 805 Status of Populations of Main Economically Important Fish Species From the Romanian Marine Sector................................ 806

Ionel Staicu et al. ................................................................................................806 Long Term Changes in Ichthyofauna and Fishery in the Coastal Sea Waters of the Crimea ............................................. 819

Alexander Boltachev...........................................................................................819 Clam Fisheries With Hydraulic Dredges in the Black Sea .......... 839

Göktuğ Dalgiç, İbrahim Okumuş.........................................................................839 Commercial Fishery Impact on the Modern Black Sea Ecosystem: A Review ................................................................. 848

V. N. Eremeev & G. V. Zuev ................................................................................848 Evolution of Main Indicators of Marine Living Resources From the Romanian Black Sea Sector in 2004 and 2005........... 862

Gheorhge Radu et al...........................................................................................862 Growth Dynamics and Mortality Estimation of the Horse Mackerel (Trachurus Mediterraneus Ponticus Aleev) Migrating Along the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast ........................ 882

V. S. Raykov & M. H. Yankova ...........................................................................882 Stock structure of anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus, L., 1758) population along the coasts of the eastern Black Sea during last two fishing seasons ................................................ 896

Cemalettin Şahin et al. .......................................................................................896 Scientific Data on the State of the Fisheries Resources of Ukraine in the Black Sea in 1992 – 2005.................................. 908

V. Shlyakhov & I. Charova .................................................................................908 Research Regarding the Impact of Fishing Gears on Dolphin Populations in the Romanian Marine Area ................................ 918

Gheorghe Radu et al...........................................................................................918 Session 7: Human Impacts.................................................. 930 Major Factors of Impact on the Azov-Black Sea Basin Ecosystem................................................................................. 931

Gennady Matishov..............................................................................................931 Creating of New Beaches in Regions of the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast With High Recreational Potential.............................. 936

Ekaterina Trifonova, Hristo Nikolov....................................................................936

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Training Model of Turkish Seafarers Who Work on Fishing Vessels According To Stcw-F Convention Training System and Safety Rules....................................................................... 952

Ersan Başar .......................................................................................................952 Fisheries and Fisheries Management in the Black Sea, Turkey...................................................................................... 961

A. Cemal Dincer Ertug Duzgunes .......................................................................961 Post-Soviet Transformations in Russian and Ukrainian Black Sea Fisheries: Socio-Economic Dynamics and Property Relations .................................................................... 976 Evolution Of Mussel Cultivation Along The Bulgarian Black Sea Coast: Case Study. ............................................................. 990

T. Konsulova et al. ..............................................................................................990 Ecological and Legal Aspects of Creating the Marine Reserve "Zernov’s Phyllophora Field" ...................................... 1009

F. Kostylev et al ............................................................................................... 1009 Ecological Sensitivity Mapping of the Coastal Zone As A Tool for Nature Protection Activities........................................ 1014

Inessa Loyeva et al.......................................................................................... 1014 Tourism Industry Impacts on the Black Sea Ecosystem Along the Bulgarian Coast -“the Good, the Bad and the Ugly” ...................................................................................... 1022

Ivelina Moncheva et al. .................................................................................... 1022 Black Sea Environment: towards the natural and prosperous future (Ecosystem approach vision) ....................... 1037 Environmental Impact of Oil Transportation in the Black Sea and the Need for An Integrated Coastal Zone Management Approach............................................................ 1042 Evolution of Human Population Pressure Along the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast ..................................................... 1056

Atanas Palazov, Hristo Stanchev .................................................................... 1056 Beach Alterations Due To Impact of Hydraulic Constructions ......................................................................... 1081 River Basin District Management Plan – Basis for Sustainable Development of Romanian Coastal Waters ........... 1099

Petru Serban & Graziella Jula ......................................................................... 1099 ecological substantiation of reproduction and commercial cultivation of mussels in the Black Sea................................... 1115

Boris Elezkiy.................................................................................................... 1115 New Ecological Policy Related To Oil and Gas Exploration and Extraction in the Azov and Black Sea Basin..................... 1128

Session 8: Modelling and Database.................................... 1135 Modern Information System of the State of the Black Sea Environment ........................................................................... 1136

I Loyeva et al. .................................................................................................. 1136 Sensitivity of the Black Sea Wave Hindcasting To the Driving Wind Fields ................................................................ 1144


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Analyzing Ecosystem State Changes on the North-Western Black Sea Shelf With Conceptual Models................................. 1152 Multidisciplinary Modelling of Black Sea Fisheries: A Case Study of Trawl and Sea Snail Fisheries in Samsun ................. 1167 Assessment of the Ecological State of the North-Western Part of the Black Sea.............................................................. 1188

Inessa Loyeva et al.......................................................................................... 1188 Near-Operational Monitoring System of the Black Sea............. 1202

Gennady Korotaev et al. .................................................................................. 1202 Recent International Activities for Promoting Oceanographic Data and Information Management of the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea .................................... 1215

Atanas Palazov et al........................................................................................ 1215 Recent Advance in the Black Sea Operational Oceanography Within the ARENA Project................................. 1229

Hristo Slabakov et al. ...................................................................................... 1229 Model for wave propagation over the shallow water areas of the Bulgarian Black Sea part.................................................. 1245

Ekaterina Trifonova ......................................................................................... 1245

Tourism Industry Impacts on the Black Sea Ecosystem Along the Bulgarian Coast -“the Good, the Bad and the Ugly” The 1st Biannual Scientific Conference: The Black Sea Ecosystem 2005 and Beyond

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TOURISM INDUSTRY IMPACTS ON THE BLACK SEA ECOSYSTEM ALONG THE BULGARIAN COAST -“THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY” Ivelina Moncheva, Snejana Moncheva, Natalia Slabakova, Veselina Alexandrova, Valentina Doncheva Ivelina Moncheva et al. Institute of Oceanology, BAS, Varna, 9000, PO Box 152, Bulgaria e-mail: [email protected]

Tourism is a rapidly growing phenomenon and has become one of the largest industries in the world. The impact of tourism is extremely varied. On one hand, it plays an important role in the socio-economic and political development in destination countries by increasing foreign investment, offering new employment opportunities, contribute to a broader cultural understanding, generally serving as an economic engine for infrastructure improvement, increasing standards of living and human, social and cultural advance.

The tourism/environment interface is a composite of the form and type of tourist development (spatial patterns), the phase in a life-cycle context of the destination, the level of organizational and technological systems employed the management regime, etc. The tourism/environment interface is expressed in terms of constraints evolving either from the impacts of tourism on the environment or from the degradation of the environment on tourism. According to World Tourism Organisation definition “Sustainable tourism development meets the needs of present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunities for the future... in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems”.

The goal of the present paper is to outline the main recent trends of tourism industry development along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast and to assess the impacts on the marine environment ecological quality based on selected environmental and ecological indicators in relation to socio-economic indicators relevant for analysis of tourism/environmental interface.

MATERIALS AND METHODS The paper is based on analysis of socio-economic indicators, related to tourism industry during the recent period (1999-2004): GDP and GAV of the sector, tourists visits, number of beds and overnight stays, number of people connected to Sewage Water System (SWS), the availability and state of Waste Water Treatment Plants (WWTP) and related nutrients flow to the coastal zone as one of the main pressure on the environment (Moncheva et al, 2006) based on data of national and regional statistics (Bulgarian Tourist Chamber, National Statistical Institute,Varna Tourist Chamber, Varna Municipality , District Varna, The Bulgarian Association of Travel Agents).

Tourism Industry Impacts on the Black Sea Ecosystem Along the Bulgarian Coast Ivelina Moncheva et al.

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Phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll a) and eutrophication index TRIX (1999-2004) were selected as the most relevant environmental ecological quality indicators. The details on analytical methods of phytoplankton pigments and calculation of TRIX are provided elsewhere (Moncheva et al., 2001, Moncheva et al., 2002)

Fig.1. Map of Bulgarian Black Sea coastal settlements and resorts (the big resorts are given in bold)

Results and Discussion For the last five years Bulgaria's Black Sea resorts have enjoyed year-on-year boom, bringing more and more visitors, money and jobs to the local economy, the rate of unemployment decreasing by more than 5% bellow the national average. The Black Sea coast has remained an important destination (German concern TUI placed Bulgaria in its Top 10 of summer holiday hotspots) registering a rise of 14% in 2004 and about 20% in 2005, the tourism revenue, rising by 21.43% y-o-y to EUR 1.5bn in 2004 and 1.8 bn leva in 2005. Àcording to Varna statistical bureau the income from nights payment for the first three months of 2005 was 3 314 810 leva (1 699 903 Euro), the region contributing 6,9 % from the country income. Bulgaria has averaged 4% growth of GDP since 2000. Tourism is an important source of hard currency, about 75% of income from foreigners is due to this sector, in 2005 alone the contribution of service sector exceeding 50% of the national GAV - FIG.2.


1024

Fig. 2. Trend in the contribution of service sector (including tourism) in the Bulgarian national GAV [in %] during the period 1997-2005. In the GDP composition by sector the services account for 59.7% far exceeding that of agriculture (10.1%) and industry (30.2% - 2005 est.). Labor force by occupation followed the same trends respectively - agriculture 11%, industry 32.7%, services 56.3% (3rd quarter 2004 est.)

The numbers of overnight stays and of visitors (for a night and over) in the coastal zone rose by 57% and 65% correspondingly, almost double the rate of country average ( 37% and 23% ), the Black Sea resorts accounting for 66% of Bulgaria' s hotel beds. - FIG.3, Table 1.


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Fig.3. Increase of tourist visitors by years [overnight stays in mill]. Indicators 2000 2001 2002 2003 1 Number of accommodation facilities 167 146 159 210 2 Number of beds 30640 27628 37324 40691 3 Overnight capacity (x1000) 4460 5699 6181 7240 4 Overnights spent (x1000) 1958 2387 2861 3651 incl. foreigners (x1000) 1602 1997 2495 3271 Table 1. Statistical summary of some tourism related indicators

Bulgaria 's travel and tourism sector is expected to grow 6.3 % in 2006 and by 4.3 % per annum, in real terms, between 2007 and 2016 (survey of World Travel and Tourism Council –WTTC). According to the survey tourism in Bulgaria in 2006 will generate USD 6725.6 million of economic activity. Bulgaria's travel and Tourism economy (direct and indirect impact) in 2006 is expected to account for 16 % of GDP and 400 000 jobs (13.6 % of total employment). These figures place Bulgaria on the 68th position in absolute size worldwide from a total of 174 countries represented in the survey and on the 43rd place in Relative Contribution to national economies.

The seashore, which had been only partly built up by the early 1990s, underwent a dramatic change. Resorts such as Slunchev Bryag, Zlatni Pyasitsi, Albena and Dyuni were privatized. With their large green spaces, they turned into mini cities, some of which have increased the number of tourist beds by a factor of 10. More than 120 hotels are under construction on the Bulgarian Black Sea, 40 alone in Slunchev Bryag, seven more new hotels are going up in Zlatni Pyasutsi, while Primorsko municipality last summer issued permits for 30 new small hotels.


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While in the early 1990s, Bulgaria still had planning and zoning rules, obliging developers to include a certain quantity of green area around each new hotel, factored in on the basis of the number of beds, by 1996 the amount of green area per bed fell from an average of around 20 m2 to about 6 m2 and recently to around 1 m2. Ecologists have repeatedly expressed concern that construction is also expanding into what were supposed to be protected areas.

The apparently unrestricted construction of hotels, summer homes and resort complexes has begun deterring visitors - with prophets of doom warning of a threat to the very life-blood of the tourist industry. More than 200 hotels are now on the market in Bulgaria, having been put up for sale immediately after completion - owners worry about whether they will ever make a profit from their establishments.

The negative trends in Bulgaria's tourism industry seem all too likely to continue for a couple more years, pending a dramatic change in the political or economic climate. If individual developments are planned and proceed on the basis of a compromise where ecological sustainability is not assured, the cumulative effect will be progressive environmental deterioration and consequent failure to meet the goals of economic and social sustainability - FIG. 4.

Fig.4. Conceptual diagram of Tourism pressures and impacts on the coastal ecosystem (slightly modified from ELME Project)


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Fig.5. Comparative statistics of environmental indicators (BOD, nitrogen and phosphorous [t/y] ) and population number P [x1000] during the high season and out of season (small settlements). The increase of population during the high season (double in the big coastal cities and about 5 times increase in smaller settlements) resulted in almost two fold increase of nutrients loads entering the marine domain - FIG. 5.

Given a total resident population of 752 392 along the Black Sea coast (national statistics 2002) and specific emissions of 1kg P/prn/y and 4 kg N/prn/y (World Health Organization, 1993) and assuming a double population number during the season, the overloading with P and N during summer (3 months) exceeds by 40% of the yearly average, accounting for 67% of the 9 months residents emissions.

These figures are even underestimated given the level of sewage water system infrastructure (SWS) and the state of waste water treatment plants (WWTP) - FIG.6 & FIG.7.


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Fig.6. Population [in %] connected to sewage water system infrastructure (SWS) and waste water treatment plants (WWTP) As apparent from Fig.6 SWS infrastructure covers almost 100% only in the big towns along the coast, while the majority is under 60%, going down to 0 % in selected settlements, similar trend manifested by the WWTP. The share of biological treatment does not changed substantially since 1990 (FIG. 7), and despite the progress since the level of untreated waste waters is still high, the small settlements still representing a big problem that altogether determine the low efficiency of the system.


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Fig. 7. Trends in the waste water treatment plants system (1990-2001). Originally it has been estimated that at least 50% of the nutrients reaching the Black Sea come from agriculture. Among all the Black Sea countries Bulgaria was the one with the highest application of fertilizers especially during the 80-ies, while in the 90-ies it was dramatically reduced, thus lowering the pressure of nutrients loads into the basin. As a result the frequency and expansion of phytoplankton blooms even in the most impacted areas (Varna and Bourgas bay) were considerably less (Moncheva, 2005). During the last several years however the values of some ecological indicators (chlorophyll a and the composite trophic index TRIX) in summer manifest an increasing trend, maintained at relatively high level, corresponding to eutrophic conditions (TRIX > 5), most likely related to the increased pressure of tourism industry - FIG.8.


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Fig. 8. Trends of ecological indicators during the summer season in Varna region (1999-2004). During 2006 alone a total of 17 cruise ships have included Varna as a part of their trip (Varna port officials info). All these together with recent interest of UK and Dutch foreigners to bye land and settle along the coast add further to the problem decoupling waste water treatment capacity/increased loads.

A plan for building new WWTPs and reconstruction of the system has been approved by the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water with deadline 2010. Last year the government adopted a National Eco-tourism Strategy, which is a great step forward, in contrast to the lack of National Tourism Strategy. It was only quite recently when the State Board for Tourism was established, responsible for the adaptation and harmonization of national tourism development with the EU standards after 2007 when Bulgaria will become a full member. The problem is the time lag between the rate of development of tourism industry and the availability of proper infrastructure, which might appear crucial to avoid environmental disasters.

The world has seen far too many examples of the negative impacts of tourism. Unplanned tourism wastes resources or even destroys the environment. Foreign companies often benefit at the expense of local communities. In the Caribbean, it has been estimated that 80 per cent of all money spent by tourists leaks out of the local economy via foreign owned businesses and imports. Peru’s Machu Pichu, less than 100 years after its discovery, is already finding that it is far above its limit for sustainable usage. Spain’s Costa del Sol is perhaps the most famous example of the burden of over-development. There too much cheap construction drove tourists away, leaving locals with decaying infrastructure (Sarda et al., 2005, Nunneri et al., 2005).

Unless critical measures to respect the tourist carrying capacity of the Black Sea coastal area are implemented there is a real concern that the tourism industry will emerge as a new threat to the Black sea coastal ecosystem.


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Conclusions Setting limits for tourism activity respecting local capacities to sustain tourism should be an ultimate objective. Thus the process of defining and implementing tourism carrying capacity (TCC) and a broader planning for sustainable tourism, which are parallel and complementary processes, should provide the framework essential to guide the local community, planners and decision-makers.

Achieving the full benefits of tourism requires a commitment to develop responsible tourism, which set the necessity of strengthening the cooperation among scientists, national and regional governments, NGOs and other stakeholders, and increased communication with industry.

Acknowledgements The work is part of the 6 FP Projects ELME (Contract No 505576), THESHOLDS (Contract No 0039331) and IASON (Contract No 515234).

References Moncheva S. 2005. Phytoplankton Shifts in the Black Sea- Driving Forces and

Possible Implication for Reference Conditions- Joint Workshop on Streamlining the Process of Producing Regional Assessments on Eutrophication for Pan-European Purposes. EC JRC-BSCOM-HELCOM 26/10/05 – 28.10.05 Istanbul, Turkey (http://bsc.ath.cx/documents/).

Moncheva S., V. Doncheva, 2000. Eutrophication Index (TRIX) – an operational tool for Black Sea coastal water ecological quality assessment and monitoring. Collected papers SCSEIO - Int. Symposium”The Black Sea Ecological problems”, Odessa/SCEIO, 2000.,178-185.

Moncheva S., V. Doncheva, and L.Kamburska, 2001. On the long-term response of harmful algal blooms to the evolution of eutrophication off the Bulgarian Black Sea coast: are the recent changes a sign of recovery of the ecosystem - the uncertainties. In: Proceedings of IX International conference on “Harmful Algal Blooms”, Hobart, Tasmania; G.M.Hallegraff et al., Eds. (UNESCO-IOC, Paris, 2001), pp. 177-182.

Moncheva S., V. Doncheva, G. Shtereva, L. Kamburska et al. 2002. Application of Eutrophication Indices for Assessment of the Bulgarian Black Sea Coastal Ecosystem Ecological Quality. Water Science and Technology Water Science and Technology, 46,8,19-28.

Moncheva S., V. Doncheva, I. Moncheva, 2006. Socioeconomic Driving Forces and Pressure Indicators in the Varna Region. In: Black Sea Coastal Region BULGARIA - Ecological and socio-economic indicators, S. Moncheva [ed], CESUM-BS pp. 45-70 (in press).

Nunneri C., K.Turner, A. Cieslak, A. Kannen, R. Klein, L. Leboux, J. Marquenie, L. Mee, S. Moncheva, R. Nicholls, W. Salomons, R. Sarda, M. Stive, T. Vellinga, 2005. Integrated assessments and future scenarios for the coast. In: Managing European Coasts-Past, present and future, , J. Vermaat, L. Bouwer, K. Turner and W. Salomons [edits}, Springer, 271-289.


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Sardá R., J. Mora and C. Avila, 2005. Tourism development in the Costa Brava (Girona, Spain) — how integrated coastal zone management may rejuvenate its lifecycle. In: Managing European Coasts (Past, Present and Future), Editors R. Allan, U. Förstner, W. Salomons, J. Vermaat, L. Bouwer and K. Turner, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, p. 291-314 .

Bulgarian Agency for Tourism (8.01.2005) http://www.mi.government.bg/tourism/pol.html

Varna Municipality (15.01.2005) http://www.varna.bg/ World Tourism Organization (20.02.2005) http://www.world-tourism.org/ Varna Tourist Chamber (1.06.2005) http://www.vct-bg.org/indexbg.html National Statistical Institute (3.06.2005) http://www.nsi.bg/ Bulgarian Tourist Chamber (5.06.2005) http://www.btch.org/index.htm District Varna (6.06.2005) http://district.varna-bg.com/ The Bulgarian Association of Travel Agents (5.07.2005)

http://www.batabg.org/index.htm

The Eunis Habitats Classification: A Tool For Habitat Description And Mapping

Dorian Moss1, Doug Evans2, Leonardo Tunesi3 and Giulia Mo3 10 Dorian Ecological Information Ltd., 21 Stapleford Road, Whissendine, Oakham, LE15 7HF, UK 2 European Topic Centre on Biological Diversity, 57 rue Cuvier, 75231 Paris, France 3 ICRAM - Istituto Centrale per la Ricerca scientifica e tecnologica, Via di Casalotti, 300, I-00166 ROMA - Italy

In order to describe or map the habitats of any particular sea or land area it is necessary to identify and list the habitat types. Such a list is therefore implicit in any marine geographic information system or in drafting action plans to protect threatened habitats. A classification of the list enables users to understand what the habitats are and how they are related to each other.

10The ecosystem approach is "the comprehensive integrated management of human activities based on best available scientific knowledge about the ecosystem and its dynamics, in order to identify and take action on influences which are critical to the health of the marine and coastal ecosystems, thereby achieving sustainable use of ecosystem goods and services and maintenance of ecosystem integrity" (definition by Bergen Declaration, March 2002).

Documents

Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against ...bssupgrade.oceaninfo.ru/library/files/40940.pdfAbout the Conference 1 Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against