MoU BETWEEN THE BLACK SEA COMMISSION AND THE EEA

1. MoU BETWEEN THE BLACK SEA COMMISSION AND THE EEA

2. Scope & Cooperation • Scope: Set up the cooperation between the Commission and the EEA based upon the principles of reciprocity and work sharing (a free flow of mutually useful information and data). • Cooperation to avoid duplication: Mutual compatibility of data, information and approaches to information provision and dissemination in the environmental field.

3. Additional contracts • Contract awards: Contractual agreements and procedures in case of assistance if and when is needed for the implementation of specific projects which are not included in the Work Programme.

4. Cooperation and Work Programmes • The Cooperation between BSC and EEA will be made at the strategic level with reference: • to the Commission’s annual Action Plan and the relevant Work Programmes of the Commission’s subsidiary bodies and • EEA’s Annual and Multi-annual Work Programmes.

5. Work Plan for the MoU and working link • The Commission and the EEA will develop, approve and have a Work Plan for the implementation of the MoU. • The working link between the BSC and the EEA will be made at an appropriate level for both organisations

6. Review meetings • Review meetings between the Coordinator of the Commission and the Executive Director of the EEA to compliment the working link • The frequency of the meetings will be agreed by the Executive Director of EEA • The Executive Secretary of OSPAR, HELCOM and UNEP-MAP Secretariat shall be invited to attend these meetings. • Other relevant international organisations may be invited to attend these meetings.

7. Cooperation with ETCs1 • Cooperation between the BSC and the ETC/WTR, ETC/NPB & ETC/TE within the ‘Inter-Regional Forum’ (IRF) - operated under the responsibility of the ETC/WTR • Ffocus on : a. promotion of new methodologies for monitoring; b.provision of data products and information; c. harmonisation of reporting procedures and requirements; d.review and use of assessment techniques and tools;

8. Cooperation with ETCs2 • A representative of the ETC/WTR, ETC/NPB and of the ETC/TE will be invited to participate in meetings of the Black Sea Environmental Programme (BSEP) of the Commission and in any relevant meeting of working groups under Programme or Committees. • Travel and accommodation expenses of one representative of the Commission participating the IRF conference or workshop will be reimbursed by the ETC/WTR.

9. Contribution to EEA Reporting • The BSC will contribute to the establishment of European-wide assessment reports on marine environmental issues of the EEA, using work carried out within the framework of the Commission’s joint monitoring and assessment activities.

10. Joint Activities between EEA and Black Sea Commission

11. Joint activities • Three logical groups: • Institutional core activities, (funding from each of the organisations own institutional budget, where an active collaboration is currently ongoing or planned for the future) • Special projects/Workshops and • Possible future activities.

12. Institutional core activities Co-operation to be built up in a stepwise approach: • Exchange of information and development of harmonisation within the inter-regional forum and its follow-up activities; • Co-operation on integrated assessments and periodic reporting (as for example the yearly indicator report and the use of EUROWATERNET); • Common developments on indicators on e.g. eutrophication, hazardous substances and oil

13. Inter-Regional Forum Event • Flexible timing, normally every 12 - 18 months, EEA through its ETC/WTR Participation • The secretariats of the marine conventions, the EC and relevant international organisations. Aims • to facilitate the exchange and possible integration of existing data and information produced by regional conventions/action plans with the EEA and its ETC/WTR • to improve working relations and task sharing , avoiding duplication of work

14. Main Accomplishmentsof theInter-Regional Forum • Provide the meeting facility for Regional Conventions covering all European Seas • Stimulation of MoU between each Regional Convention and the EEA • Identification of differences in reporting requirements and timing among regional conventions and the EEA

15. Recommendations of theInter-Regional Forum • Recommendations and steps to improve cooperation between IRF partners have been made on: • Harmonisation of reporting (Different reporting requirements and linkages to political Agendas for each organisation) • Data exchange (Availability, Access/Ownership and Management) • Assessment products (Geographic Information Systems, Indicators, Statistical tools) • Handling and release of monitoring data (Data providers, Data Centres & Data Users)

16. Yearly Indicator Report (YIR) • Time trend data on nutrients, contaminants and oil in marine coastal waters from Marine Conventions and member states. • Date were used to develop indicators for eutrophication, contaminants and oil in the marine environment. • BSC and its Advisory Group on the Pollution Monitoring and Assessment will have to explore the possibility of how it could contribute to the data flow from the region and the development of the indicators for the region. • EEA will provide the indicator Fact Sheets for comments/additions to the BSC

17. Quality Assurance • BSC should develop data quality assurance • EEA/ETC-WTR could facilitate the process by providing information on instruments to accomplish the quality assurance • A common workshop with other international organisations (e.g. ICES, UNEP/MAP) could be organised. EEA could facilitate such workshop

18. KIEV Report • The BSC make the data from the Black Sea available from, before 1st August 2002 to be included in the Kiev Report. • GIS test case in the report will include the Black Sea. Maps on eutrophication, hazardous substances and oil to be used by both EEA and BSC • Data from countries will be made available from EEA to the BSC

19. EUROWATERNET • EUROWATERNET was established as a very good reporting procedure. ETC/WTR extends that procedure to marine, coastal and transitional waters. • The principles of EUROWATERNET could be followed when the reporting procedures of the BSC are being developed/revised. It should also include the NIS states in the Black Sea. Contribute to streamlining of data reporting in the region

20. Habitats, species and nature areas • EEA has developed a habitat classification at a pan-European scale, including marine habitat types. • BSC could work on this direction to avoid duplication and contribute to the accuracy of the habitat classification. Details on how the work could be initiated will have to be agreed. • EEA is developing a common database on designated areas in Europe with Council of Europe and WCMC. It will contain copies of data of designated areas from different conventions. A collaboration with BSC is essential. • The possibilities for collaboration on species should be investigated.

21. Joint workshops • Possible joint workshops on • Indicators • Habitats • Data Quality Assurance

22. Implementation • Differences in working structure between BSC and EEA: • In EEA either the Project Managers or partners of the ETCs will participate in the joint activities, • In the BSC, RACs and members of the advisory groups and/or as appropriate the secretariat will participate. • The BSC participation has to be endorsed by the relevant advisory groups.

23. Relevance and geographical area • Joint activities should preferably be relevant also to other Marine Conventions and could serve as case studies or pilot projects for similar activities with other Marine Conventions (IRF). • Marine and coastal assessments for the EEA countries in the Black Sea will be an integrated part of EEA’s activities, but the integrity of the Black Sea system is vital to accurate reporting.

24. Priorities for the future • Should be based on the priorities of each of the organisations. • Harmonisation of Reporting • Involvement of BSC on the list of indicators produced by ETC/WTR for comments/additions

25. Priorities for the future • The major priorities are the up coming reports of BSC and EEA, which are linked to main events (Kiev Report, SoE, YIR, BSC Assessment, BSC Annual Assessment etc.). • Information and data should be exchanged for the preparation of the reports. • EEA could facilitate actions for data quality assurance.