This project introduces national policy makers in the Black Sea countries the basics of selecting cost-effective measures to reduce nutrient pollution. The measures considered within this project are both technical measures that can be locally applied as well as instruments, such as N-taxes, applied on a national/basin wide level.  Additionally, this project presents case studies dealing with nutrient pollution in each of the following sectors: agriculture, industry and municipal. The reports are available for download.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of various measures in the Black Sea region will help to identify the economically most efficient way to fulfil pre-determined objectives of nutrient pollution reduction.  In this context, the purpose of this report is to present a pragmatic methodology for assessing cost-effectiveness of measures that can be applied on a regional level.

This project goes beyond general methodological issues for cost-effectiveness analysis of WFD by discussing three sectors, agriculture, municipal and industry in detail:
For the agriculture sector, this paper identifies various measures to be taken to reduce nutrient leaching into ground and surface waters in the region. Measures chosen are related to land use, soil management, fertilizer and manure management, animal feeding, farm infrastructure, education and training and livestock reduction.  Each measure is assessed according to its effects ( water-related and non-water related), geographic scale, durability, adaptability, certainty and costs.  Analysis of the municipal sector focuses on the cost effectiveness of different upgrading options in sewage treatment facilities as well as the impacts of relevant policies, such as the compulsory introduction of phosphorus free detergents.  With respect to industry, the case study focuses on the fertilizer production industry and the application of best available technology (BAT) to reduce emissions from the production process to surface waters.

The project results should contribute to the formulation of strategies for nutrient pollution reduction from land-based activities, which is key to achieving better protection of ecosystems of the Black Sea and its coastal zones.

The reports are available here:

• Comparison of results - guidelines on how to select the most cost effective measures [pdf, 192 KB, English]
• Methodology for selecting cost-effective measures to tackle nutrient pollution from the agricultural, municipal and industrial sectors in the Black Sea [pdf, 432 KB, English]
• Case study on calculating cost-effective measures to tackle nutrient pollution from the agricultural, municipal and industrial sectors in the Black Sea [pdf, 1 MB, English]