Arcadis to support Black Sea environmental program
Date: 27-Sep-02
Country: NETHERLANDS
The contract, awarded by the European Commission's (EC) EuropeAid Cooperation Office has a value of EUR 2.8 million.
In addition to ARCADIS, U.K. based Mott Macdonald and the French company BRL are members of the consortium.
Commenting on the project award, Dr. Anna Bramwell, project manager on behalf of the European Commission, stated:
"The Black Sea region is a high priority of the European Union because it forms a key interface between the Union and former Soviet countries, as well as three nations applying to join the Union.
It is virtually a landlocked sea receiving drainage from western Europe via the Danube River, as well as from several other large rivers in Ukraine and Russia.
Its ecosystem has been severely damaged over the past several decades, and continues to be threatened by factors that include inflow of high pollutant loads from the major rivers as well as insufficiently treated discharges from sewage plants and other sources."
In 1992, recognizing the deteriorating condition of the Black Sea, the six countries which surround it signed the Convention for the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution.
A Commission of the Convention was later established, supported by a Permanent Secretariat located in Istanbul. Within the framework of the Black Sea Environment Program, assistance has previously been provided by the EC and other donors to Black Sea countries.
The international consortium has to support the Permanent Secretariat, as well as provide technical assistance in the fields of water quality monitoring (from a base in Ukraine), integrated coastal zone management (from a base in Russia), and biodiversity protection (from a base in Georgia).
Michiel Jaski, member of the Executive Board of ARCADIS, stated:
"This assignment is a welcome addition to the ARCADIS position in eastern Europe. It continues the extensive work previously performed in the region, and demonstrates how the private sector can be involved in providing services to support sustainable development for transition of developing economies."
