RSS
WWF Romania: 1,500 hectares of land located in the Danube-Carpathian region was greened until end-2015
An area of 1,500 hectares of land located in the Danube-Carpathian region was greened through dedicated ecological restoration programmes until end-2015, and this year similar projects are underway in the Natura 2000 Site Gruia - Garla Mare, in the pilot area Balta Greaca respectively, according to the World Wide Fund of Nature (WWF) Romania organization.
"(...) In the Danube-Carpathian region, in the last 150 years, more than 80pct of wetlands have been lost and, with them, the services they provide. The most visible changes are seen in a Danube floodplain, where, in the communist era, the Romanian state started a programme of expanding farmland in the floodplain, with highly fertile soils due to intake of nutrients brought by the Danube alluvium.
The land was dammed and drained, vegetation was replaced with crop plants, wildlife disappeared and non-arable portions were transformed into industrial zones or grazing land. During heavy rains, the wetlands in the Danube floodplain offered an ample space for water overflow and levees cannot always cope with Danube flash floods," notes the cited source.
In this context, WWF-Romania, along with its partners and local communities, managed to complete by end-2015, wetland re-greening projects on an area of 1,500 hectares along and in the Danube Delta, yet this area represents only 5pct of the existing potential.
During this year, WWF has announced that it will focus on greening 635 hectares of the Natura 2000 Site Gruia - Garla Mare in Mehedinti County. Also in Giurgiu County, for the pilot area Balta Greaca, the environmental organization has conducted a study for four operation scenarios, showing ways in which the area may evolve.
On the list of WWF's ecological restoration projects and public policies are Balta Geraiului, Mahmudia, Garla Mare and Balta Greaca.
Romania has been part of Ramsar Convention since September 21, 1991 and of the 19 sites with special wetland status, the Danube Delta was the first on the list of designations, on May 21, 1991.
At international level, the Ramsar Convention has 2,224 sites totaling 214,326,438 hectares outlined in the 169 signatory countries.
Romania organized in 2012 the Ramsar COP12 Conference and held the presidency of the Ramsar Convention 2012 - 2015. Currently, Romania is a member of the Ramsar Standing Committee for the period 2015-2018.
The Ramsar Convention is an intergovernmental treaty, meant to provide the necessary framework for the conservation and intelligent use of wetlands and their resources, both at national and international level. Wetlands are some of the richest in the world in terms of biological diversity, providing the necessary habitat for many species of plants and animals.
Established in 1961, WWF is one of the most important international organizations that run nature conservation projects in more than 100 countries.