The case of Eastern Europe
Belarus – Moldova – Ukraine / 69
Environmental cooperation agreements between Moldova and its neighbours With Ukraine
With Romania
On protection and joint use of transboundary waters (1993) Plan of joint activities on protection and use of water biota in transboundary water courses (endorsed in 2006) Inter-governmental programme of the long-term economic cooperation through 1998-2007 (1998)
On environmental protection and sustainable use of natural resources (1997) On protection of fish and fishery in the Prut river basin and in Stinca-Costesti reservoir (2003)
On cooperation in managing specially protected territories in the Danube delta and the Lower Prut in southern Moldova raises environmental concerns at home too. Moldova cooperates with its neighbours on joint management of the Dniester and Prut water resources (see table), in particular with the support of the international community (see account of Dniester basin cooperation in the Ukraine section). Cooperation with NATO and Germany61 is enhancing much needed early warning and monitoring systems62. Tri-partite cooperation (with Ukraine and Romania) on the joint management and protection of the Danube delta has also started. Protected natural areas. At present protected areas cover 1.96% of the total land surface of Moldova (МОСТУ 2000). More than half this area is in nature reserves. In the late 1990s there was an attempt to create a 20,000 hectare Lower Dniester national park. It would have been connected to a projected national park in Ukraine’s Odesa oblast, creating a transboundary protected area. The World Bank was due to fund the project but suspended its support in 2005 due to problems of procedure and the legal status of the territory (doubts as to whether a game reserve can be part of a protected area) (Biotica 2003). Meanwhile a feasibility study for the Lower Dniester National Park in Ukraine has started with the support of the European Union. Productive land is a key resource in the Moldovan economy, with farming earning more than 75% of national income. Land degradation is therefore seen as a significant economic and social threat potentially associated with massive loss of rural live-
lihoods, migration and unemployment. More than half of all farmland (35% in the Transnistrian region) is currently considered to be deteriorating and the amount of land affected by serious soil erosion is increasing by almost 1% a year. In particular, water erosion affects about 35% to 40% of land, and almost 30% are prone to land slides. There are more than 40,000 ravines in the country and the area affected by landslides and ravines is increasing by 3% to 7% a year. The Transnistrian conflict complicates use of farmland in the area south of Dubasari, where local people on the right bank must cross the demarcation line of contact every day to reach the land they traditionally farm. Hazardous waste is of particular concern to Moldova, especially due to its low capacity to address the problem. The country does not have a single suitable facility to dispose of about 8,000 tonnes of toxic waste that has accumulated there. Significant amounts of waste are stored illegally and in a disorganised fashion, contributing to land and water contamination. In the Transnistrian region industrial and domestic waste has been and still is being dumped at about 100 locations, most of them illegal. Landfills in Tiraspol, Tighina (Bender) and Slobozia are full. The one in Ribnita is nearly full. Up to 1 million tonnes of industrial waste are temporarily stored at various facilities and an estimated 4,700 tonnes of toxic waste has accumulated in the Transnistrian region. Operation of the Moldovan GRES thermal power plant has produced more than 13 million tonnes of waste, which is still building up (for historical reasons this waste is stored on the other side of the Cuciurgan Reservoir in Ukraine, border