Background

As described in the Strategic Action Plan for the Rehabilitation and Protection of the Black Sea: "A regional Black Sea Red Data Book (BSRDB), identifying and describing endangered species, will be prepared and published by December 1998. It is advised that the work on the Red Data Book be coordinated by the Istanbul Commission, through its Advisory Group on the Conservation of Biological Diversity."

This recommendation was based on the following conclusions:

• at present there are no Red Data Books or Lists which cover all the threatened and rare species in the entire Black Sea ecosystem;
• to date, no regional Red Data Book has ever been prepared for the marine environment anywhere in the world -- the BSRDB will be the first;
• the BSRDB should include Black Sea species which are already mentioned in all the existing national and international Red Data Books and Lists, plus other Black Sea threatened species which will be introduced to the BSRDB by specialists using accumulated data.

The Black Sea Red Data Book includes:

• threatened and rare species of marine plants and animals; and,
• threatened and rare species of coastal organisms which are ecologically close to the marine environment (the life cycle of which depends on the sea ecosystem itself).