Discours politique, couverture médiatique et conventions internationales sur la protection de l’environnement. Etude de cas: le canal de Bystroe
Political Discourse, Media Coverage and International Conventions on Environmental Protection. Case Study: The Bystroe Cana

Summary/Abstract: The objective of this paper is to analyze public communication regarding the dredging of the Bystroe Canal, between January and June 2023, assessing the involvement of authorities from Romania and Ukraine in addressing the dredging situation, which endangers the Danube Delta ecosystem. This analysis extends to the European Union level and examines Ukraine's compliance with International Conventions concerning environmental protection. Since 2003, Ukraine initiated widening and deepening works on the Bystroe Canal, threatening the Danube Delta's biosphere, a UNESCO heritage site since 1991, thus violating several international conventions (International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River, Espoo Convention, Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, Bern Convention, and Aarhus Convention). The dredging issue resurfaced in the public domain amidst the Ukraine conflict, affecting Black Sea ports, disrupting grain transport, while works on the Bystroe Canal continued for navigational purposes. Statements released to the press by officials hold two different contexts: one attempts, albeit only on a superficial level without tangible outcomes, to negotiate or establish diplomatic relations between Romania and Ukraine regarding the Bystroe Canal situation. The other context involves accusations of dredging and delaying measures to stop it, politicizing the Bystroe matter, and even alleging Russian propaganda. In the second phase of the case study, a quantitative analysis of press releases on the websites of the Romanian Ministry of Environment, Waters, and Forests, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, from January 1, 2023, to June 12, 2023, reveals insufficient public information about the actions taken by Romanian authorities. While political figures launch accusatory discourses in the press, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website only contains two press releases about the Bystroe Canal dredging. The Ministry of Environment, Waters, and Forests has just one press release on the same topic, and the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure website lacks any public interest press releases. The final conclusion highlights the poor communication on behalf of the public institutions concerning a matter of both national and international interest, characterized by conflicting discourses, accusatory press statements, and a lack of substantial issue resolution, or incomplete communication on the respective websites.

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