Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a pleasure to open this Ministerial Meeting on the strengthening of international co-operation in marine environmental assessment of the Black Sea region.
In these times of change and new challenges, the contribution of nuclear science and technology to building bridges for co-operation and development is sometimes overlooked. Yet this was one of the fundamental purposes for which the IAEA was established 41 years ago. Fostering scientific research, exchange and training of scientists and experts, and the practical application of nuclear technology for peace, health and prosperity is a core role of the Agency and an integral part of the international consensus relating to the peaceful use of nuclear energy embodied in the IAEA Statute and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
In fulfilling this role, our objective is to ensure, where nuclear technology remains the most effective and appropriate technology to address a particular problem, that this technology is transferred in the most efficient, effective and safe manner. The size of the Agency's Technical Co-operation programme is modest - approximately $80 million per year - but the impact and results have been outstanding.
Equally important is the contribution of Agency programmes to optimizing the efforts of others. Much of the preparatory work for the Black Sea Environmental Programme was done with support from other UN organizations, including UNEP, UNDP and the World Bank, channeled though the Global Environment Facility. In the course of this, constructive partnerships were strengthened between the Agency's Technical Co-operation Department, the European Commission through its European river-Ocean System programme and bilateral donors. As the only marine laboratory in the UN system, the IAEA Marine Environment Laboratory in Monaco has played a key scientific and technical role.
The purpose of this Ministerial Meeting and the Declaration which is to be signed today is to strengthen regional co-operation in support of the third phase of the Agency's regional project on Environmental Assessment of the Black Sea Region. Allow me to describe briefly some of the achievements of the project, its use of nuclear techniques for environmental monitoring and future management and conclude with some comments on the future. I begin with history.
More than 7000 years ago, in the aftermath of the last glacial period, the level of the Black Sea rose over 150 metres. A strong stratification of the water column occurred in which the bottom waters became anoxic (lacking dissolved oxygen) while a rich marine life developed in the surface layers. Until the 1980s, the Black Sea supported some 2 million people in the fishing industry and was a major tourist destination.
Between 1988 and 1992, as a result of human activities, including man-made pollution, the introduction of opportunistic marine species and unregulated coastal development, the fishing industry collapsed from an annual catch of over 650,000 tons to about 100,000 tons and annual revenue from tourism declined by some US$ 400 million. The environmental degradation of the Black Sea has had devastating economic and social consequences.
In 1993, the IAEA commenced a Co-ordinated Research Programme for "The Application of Tracer Techniques in Studies of Processes and Pollution in the Black Sea". The results showed that existing data on concentrations of man-made radionuclides in the Black Sea environment, although considerably higher than in other parts of the World Ocean, are such that no significant radiological consequences can be expected.
However, through this programme, the unique potential of nuclear techniques for Black Sea oceanography studies was highlighted. Several isotopes provided excellent radiotracers to study the sources of pollution through analysis of water mixing and circulation. Nuclear analytical techniques such as gamma spectroscopy were utilized to measure the quantities of radionuclides in various marine samples.
The programme also found that there were many gaps in the radioactivity data coverage of the Black Sea basin and suggested that upgraded regional technical capabilities to apply nuclear techniques would make a strong contribution to marine pollution research and monitoring. A reliable and comprehensive assessment of pollution is the necessary condition for effective protection, rehabilitation and management of marine resources.
In 1995 the Agency initiated the current Regional Technical Co-operation Project for "Marine Environmental Assessment in the Black Sea Region". Its purpose is to assist Member States which border the Black Sea to develop regionally co-ordinated monitoring and emergency response programmes for radionuclides in the marine environment and to assess key processes controlling the fate of contaminants in the Black Sea by using radioactive tracers.
The project is in three phases. During the first phase, potential participating laboratories were identified, their training, expertise and equipment needs were assessed, and a comprehensive programme addressing these needs was initiated. The second phase (1997-98) has been focusing on capacity building, proficiency testing and application of the acquired capabilities for regionally co-ordinated marine pollution monitoring and assessment.
Six laboratories - one from each participating State (Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine) - which play key roles in their countries' marine radioactivity monitoring and assessment programmes, are the main project counterparts. Twelve other collaborating institutes contribute to the programme. To date, some US$ 700,000 of sampling and radiometric equipment and laboratory supplies have been provided. Over fifty scientists have been trained in marine sampling, radioanalytical and tracer techniques and a structure of task groups has been put in place to create a functional basis for continued regional co-ordination after the conclusion of the project.
The third phase (1999-2000) of the programme, which is the subject of your discussions today, aims to strengthen the functional capacities created, complete the environmental assessment started this year and develop recommendations and guidelines for future Black Sea environmental management activities. The ultimate success of this project will be in its contribution, alongside other programmes, to the development in the region of local specialist capacities to assess, control and ameliorate marine pollution.
For many reasons, the IAEA is proud to be a participant in these endeavours. The technical co-operation programmes we have been undertaking in the Black Sea region are addressing high priority needs. Success of these projects will bring direct economic and development benefits to the region. The application of nuclear techniques is demonstrably the most effective and appropriate technology. The process of technology transfer is not only building local scientific and technical expertise and capacity, but it is also building bridges of co-operation between countries and people. And the example of co-operation between many different States, international organizations, regional bodies and institutions is a positive precedent for future co-operation in managing and preserving our precious environmental heritage.
Allow me to conclude by expressing to you all my warmest wishes for a successful meeting. The commitment of the Governments of Black Sea countries to support the rehabilitation and protection of their marine environment is demonstrated by the political, legal and institutional regional frameworks they have put in place for marine environmental management. The Declaration that will be signed today will be a further step along the path of strengthening cooperation for a better future.