RESTORING AND PROTECTING THE BLACK SEA: COOPERATION IS VITAL
By Colleen Graffy

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
ml
14.09.2007

Something amazing happened on Wednesday and Thursday of this week
that might not have caught everyone’s attention.

Twelve countries- Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia,
Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine -came
together to explore how they can restore and protect the Black Sea
and to discuss how environmental protection could boost economic
development and broader cooperation in this critical region that
350 million people call home. The meeting, held in Istanbul and
organized by the Organization for Black Sea Economic Cooperation
(BSEC) and the United States, brought together government, business,
and civil society leaders for the first symposium of its kind for BSEC.

The importance of this gathering should not be
underestimated. Environmental damage knows no borders and cooperation
with neighboring countries is vital to environmental protection. The
United States has observer status to BSEC, but as U.S. Ambassador
to Turkey Ross Wilson pointed out, "The U.S. is only an observer,
but not a disinterested one." In my opening remarks I tried to
explain why. People feel passionately about the environment in the
United States. We want to share that passion, because we know the
difference that it can make in people’s lives. In my own hometown of
Santa Barbara, California, there is nothing that will bring people
together quicker than a perceived threat to the environment. I gave
examples where man-made environmental degradation in the U.S.

had turned lakes, rivers and oceans from areas of enjoyment, tourism
and commerce into polluted problem areas.

In each of the examples, the problems were resolved by
community-spirited individuals, talented professionals and dedicated
members of the government who cared enough about the environment to
help overcome differences, lack of knowledge, and fiscal challenges
in order to work together to make a difference.

This conference has allowed government officials as well as private
sector and NGO representatives from the BSEC member states along
with U.S. representatives from the Department of State and the
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration to join
with representatives from the European Union, the UN Development
Programme and the Black Sea Commission to share best practices. It
is clear to all that governments play a vital role in enacting
and implementing sound environmental legislation. But it is also
clear that environmental protection is not just a government
function. Businesses and corporations share the responsibility and
their involvement is essential, as is that of community based and
non-governmental organizations. Education and teaching young people
and our communities about the environment was also identified as a key
to changing behavior and making a difference in the Black Sea region.

What we have learned in the United States over the past 30-plus years
is that protecting the environment isn’t just good for families
and good for tourism, it is also good for the economy, it is good
for jobs, and it makes good sense. The same is true for the BSEC
region. For Turkey the income from tourism and other Black Sea-related
industries such as fishing, shipping and the energy sector accounts for
a significant percent of the economy. But it cannot be done without
bringing communities, regions, countries and different sectors of
society together. The countries of the greater Black Sea region share
riverine and littoral ecosystems that can only be protected through
cooperative, complementary efforts.

I hope that this will be the first of many symposiums in which we
can all work collaboratively, not only in the field of environmental
protection but also on other topics of mutual interest as well.

* Colleen P. Graffy is the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
for European and Eurasian Affairs.