In April, 1992, governments of Georgia and five other Black Sea coastal nations (Bulgaria, Romania, Russian Federation, Ukraine and Turkey ) put their signatures under the Convention for the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution. The Convention was rapidly ratified by all six countries. The signing of the Convention was followed by the joint Ministerial Declaration on the Protection of the Black Sea (April, 1993, Odessa, Ukraine).
Odessa Declaration mentions specifically the need for Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), stating that countries should "elaborate and implement national ICZM policies, including legislative measures and economic instruments, in order to ensure sustainable development in the spirit of Agenda 21", thus stressing the importance of developing ICZM practices on the national level.
ICZM activities in Georgia are catalyzed and supported by the international donor assistance, particularly within the framework of the regional Black Sea Environmental Program (BSEP), supported by the World Bank, UNDP and UNEP. Currently there are three inter-related programs under way to apply ICZM methodology for managing the Georgian's Black Sea coast:
ii) BSEP ICZM Pilot Project (due to be initiated soon and implemented by the private consulting company ARCI Studio) will attempt to translate the general management principles into detailed instructions and regulations for both central and local coastal authorities, as well as to develop technical tools (like GIS) in support of decision-making process.
iii) the World Bank/GEF funded Georgia ICZM Program (initiated after the stimulating national ICZM workshop in April, 1995).
BSEP ICZM Focal Point is coordinating all these efforts to guarantee the coherent implementation and to avoid the duplication.
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