The GEF Strategic Partnership addresses the recovery of the ecological balance of the Danube river and the Black sea. The Partnership was established in 2001 to support the broader long term Strategy by the Danube and Black Sea Commissions, the concerned riparian countries, in collaboration with GEF, the UNDP and the World Bank to address the issue of nutrient pollution in the water bodies. The projects supported under the Partnership also assist the riparian countries towards compliance with EU Nitrate Directive