Part IV

Ukraine’s plan to build a deep-water navigation channel in the Danube Delta—a natural habitat strictly protected under international environmental law—has raised concerns not only in Romania (whose territory encompasses approximately 80% of the Danube Delta) but also at the international and European levels. This article presents the reactions of international organizations with expertise in this field, all of which have, without exception, concluded that Ukraine’s initiative poses a potential threat of causing irreparable damage to this globally unique example of biodiversity. Some of the most recent conclusions on this matter were adopted in 2006 by the Commission of Inquiry, established for the first time at Romania’s initiative, in accordance with the 1991 Espoo Convention.