Ukraine and Romania: Transboundary Environmental Security and Ecology of Shared Water Resources

Abstract

Ukraine and Romania share a number of various water resources, such as part of the Black Sea, but the Tisza, Prut, Siret and Danube are the main shared rivers. Some of the rivers flow from Romania to Ukraine and vice versa while some smaller rivers meander within both countries or flow to adjoining countries. In the background of rather strained relations between these two nations, there are accusations of “eco-terrorism” because of regular or emergency discharges of water polluting agents into these rivers.

This work analyses the main sources of tension with regard to both small and bigger shared water resources along Ukraine-Romania border and proposes some mitigation steps. It is shown that both sides can take rather simple but effective steps to achieve a compromise.