GEF Strategic Partnership on the Black Sea/Danube Basin

The Global Environment Facility Strategic Partnership on the Black Sea and Danube Basin is an initiative aimed to address the root causes of environmental degradation in this region and promote investments and capacity building to return the Black Sea/Danube Basin environment to its 1960s condition. The GEF funded Partnership has been established with the cooperation of the World Bank (WB), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and other multilateral and bilateral financiers and basin countries.

The elements of the Partnership are two UNDP/UNEP Regional Projects and the WB Investment Fund:

Strengthening the Implementation Capacities for Nutrient Reduction and Transboundary Cooperation in the Danube River Basin: Phase I

Control of Eutrophication, Hazardous Substances and Related Measures for Rehabilitating the Black Sea Ecosystem: Phase I

World Bank Investment Fund for Nutrient Reduction in the Black Sea/Danube Basin

The two UNDP/UNEP Regional Projects are aimed at addressing transboundary environmental degradation in the Danube/Black Sea basin through policy and legal reform, public awareness raising, and institutional strengthening.

The World Bank Investment Fund for Nutrient Reduction in the Black Sea/Danube Basin is focused on the recovery of the Black Sea and aimed to help finance investment projects in industrial and domestic wastewater treatment, wetland restoration and environmentally friendly agriculture. The Investment Fund will leverage US$210 million to complement US$70 million GEF grant funds for nutrient reduction investments in the agriculture, and municipal and industrial wastewater treatment sectors and for wetland restoration. For detailed information on the Partnership and Investment Projects see ww.worldbank.org

The GEF Council approved the first tranche of US$29 million. This consists of US$9 million for the two regional capacity building/technical assistance projects to be implemented by UNDP and UNEP and US$20 million for the World Bank Partnership Investment Fund for Nutrient Reduction. In total, the two Regional Projects will be allocated US$25 million and the Investment Fund US$70 million over multiple tranches.

The successful implementation of the Partnership depends on the continued cooperation among stakeholders in the Basin (including the riparian governments, the Black Sea and Danube Commissions, NGOs, the private sector) and the donor community. Besides the UNDP/UNEP and the WB that will carry out the two regional capacity building projects and the Investment Fund, respectively, other partners 'contributions' in the form of technical assistance and investment financing, is crucial. These partners include, but are not limited to the European Commission (EC), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and the bilateral cooperation agencies of Austria, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. source: www.worldbank.org