On 10 July, in Geneva, Professor Joost Terwindt, President of the United Nations Inquiry Commission, formally handed over its opinion on the environmental impact of the Bystroe Canal to the Ambassadors of Romania and Ukraine and to the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), Mr. Marek Belka.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
The first phase of the Ukrainian project “Danube-Black Sea Deep Water Navigation Canal in the Ukrainian Sector of the Danube Delta” (the Bystroe Canal project), aimed at boosting the depressed local economy, was completed in August 2004, and a second phase is now underway. Much of the national and international controversy surrounding this project arises from its location in the Danube Delta.
The Commission unanimously concluded that the building of the canal is likely to have significant adverse transboundary impacts.
Ukraine is developing the canal without having previously notified Romania (as it is required to do under the UNECE Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context, also known as the Espoo Convention). The Convention requires that countries notify and consult each other on all planned major projects that are likely to have a significant negative environmental impact across a national border. Both Romania and Ukraine are Parties to the Convention.
Based on its findings, the Commission has concluded that a significant adverse transboundary impact is likely and thus the provisions of the Espoo Convention apply. This means that Ukraine is expected to send a notification about the canal to Romania and that the procedure imposed by the Convention should start. In other words, there should be consultation between the Parties, Romania should be given an opportunity to comment on the project, and public participation in the two countries should be ensured. It also means that the final decision about the project should be submitted to Romania.
For the full UNECE press release on the environmental impact of the Bystroe Canal, see http://www.unece.org/press/pr2006/06env_p05e.htm. Additional information on the Espoo Inquiry Commission can be found on http://www.unece.org/env/eia/inquiry.htm.
