Moldova, Ukraine and Romania will implement a transboundary project to monitor the Black Sea river ecosystems, namely of the Prut and Nistru Rivers, that is financed by the European Union through the European Neighborhood Instrument within the Joint Operational Program “Black Sea Basin 2014-2020”. The project will last for 30 months and has a total budget of about €900,000 that is provided by the European Union.
In a news conference at IPN, project manager Elena Zubkov, corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, the Institute of Zoology, said there will be worked out a common system of indicators that are now not included in the existing regulations for assessing ecosystems, but are essential in monitoring the functioning of transboundary aquatic ecosystems and the transformations that takes place under the influence of hydropower constructions and climate change. The obtained results and the formulated recommendations for improving the situation will be published and made available, including by presenting them on an online platform that will be accessible to everyone throughout the project implementation period. A consortium of researchers from three countries will be constituted within the project to monitor transboundary ecosystems in the long run. As part of the same project, there will be staged expeditions, laboratory simulations, training seminars for specialists and young people, summer schools, workshops and an international conference. Emphasis within the project will be placed on the designing of a new system of integral indicators for assessing aquatic ecosystems exposed to the impact of hydropower constructions and climate change.
Project coordinator Ilia Trombitski, “Eco-TIRAS” executive director, said that through transboundary cooperation the ecological situation could be assessed objectively and criteria for monitoring the changes could be proposed for balancing the existing policy on the rational use of water resources. “Eco-TIRAS” will work out, together with the partners, the indicators and methodology for determining the losses of the services of ecosystems caused by the hydropower constructions on the Nistru River amid climate change. The project envisions the formulation of proposals for improving the situation, including by engaging young people in the river saving process. The problem of the Nistru River should become a priority for the whole region and an appropriate solution should be found to it.
Project coordinator Antoaneta Ene, of the Lower Danube University of Galați, stated the university she represents will be involved in the assessment of the impact of transboundary constructions in the basin of the Prut, through the barrage in Stânca-Costești, and in the dissemination of knowledge accumulated by students, researchers, teachers and the population from the localities situated along the course of the Prut. The obtained results will be multiplied and made available to everyone, including the countries that have such hydro-technical constructions on the Lower Danube.
Project coordinator Svetlana Kovalishina, of the Odessa-based Ukrainian Scientific Center of Ecology of the Sea, said the Center has a huge research potential and will enable to perform different biological, geographical and other kinds of works, focusing on chemical-analytical and hydro-biological examinations.
Project coordinator Alexandr Matyghin, of the Odessa-based Hydrometeorological Center of the Black and Azov Seas, noted the construction of hydropower plants influences the climate and the people. As part of the project, the Hydrometeorological Center will assess the change in the microclimate in the region of the Nistru following the construction of hydropower plants and will make forecasts about the change in temperatures and precipitation, accumulation of water in the Nistru, adaptation by people, etc.
The HydroEcoNex project “Creating a system of innovative transboundary monitoring of the transformations of the Black Sea river ecosystems under the impact of hydropower development and climate change” will be implemented by the Institute of Zoology in partnership with the Eco-Tiras International Association of River Keepers, the Lower Danube University of Galați, the Ukrainian Scientific Center of Ecology of the Sea and the Hydrometeorological Center of the Black and Azov Seas.
