PRESS RELEASE
Regarding the Closing Conference for the Project “Restoration of wetlands and peatlands in the Center Region” (RePeat)
Miercurea-Ciuc, 21 March 2024
The Research and Development Institute for Hunting and Mountain Resources (ICDCRM) organized the closing conference of the project “Restoration of wetlands and peatlands in the Center Region (RePeat)”, between March 20 – 21, 2024, in Miercurea Ciuc. The conference was followed by field visits to peatlands restored in the project.
The project is implemented through the “Environment, Climate Change Adaptation and Ecosystems’’ Programme (RO – Environment), for which the Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests is the Programme Operator. The project is financed through the European Economic Area (EEA) Financial Mechanism 2014-2021. The total value of the project is 4.658.620,37 lei and the implementation period is 28 months.
The main objective of the project is the identification and assessment of areas that require ecological restoration/reconstruction interventions.
During the Closing Conference of the project, on March 20, 2024, among the topics addressed were the project activities and the project results, as well as themes such as climate change, renaturation and management of wetlands.
Thus, intervention works were carried out in the project in order to stop the loss of biodiversity of the peatland ecosystems in the Center area, restore their water system, continuously monitor the ecological restoration works, identify and evaluate the areas and sub-areas that require ecological restoration/reconstruction interventions.
The project results are the following:
- restoring the characteristic flora of peatlands;
- optimizing the hydrological levels of the peatlands;
- the achievement of rational and sustainable tourism;
- elimination/reduction of invasive species;
- improving water quality in peatlands;
- installation of a monitoring/evaluation system of hydrogeological parameters.
’’In the “Environment, Climate Change Adaptation and Ecosystems’’ Programme (RO – Environment), with an initial total value of 23 mil. Euro, for which the Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests is the Programme Operator, 5 projects were funded in the ”Ecosystems and biodiversity” programme domain. The implementation of this project contributes to the achievement of the objective of the RO-Environment Programme, which is to improve the state of the environment in ecosystems and to reduce the adverse effects of pollution and other human activities. Therefore, in order to stop the degradation of ecosystems, restoration actions were necessary in this project as well, in the 12 peatlands and wetlands in the Central Region’’, emphasized Dan Ștefan CHIRU, State Secretary within MMAP.
“Through the RO-Environment Programme, the Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests addressed priority issues for the policies they are developing in the fields of Biodiversity, Waste and Climate Change. The 26 projects implemented through this Programme have once again demonstrated the Ministry’s concern for the efficient use of non – reimbursable funds, the promotion of the transfer of good practices from the Donor States, and the preparation of the Administrative – Territorial Units (UATs) in order to reduce the adverse effects of climate change”, emphasized Marisanda Pîrîianu, RO – Environment Programme manager.
On March 21, 2024, the specialists present at the conference in Miercurea-Ciuc visited several peatlands in the Fântâna Brazilor area, in Harghita county, where work was carried out to remove invasive vegetation from the peatland, monitoring activities and, last but not least, the recolonization of certain types of plants specific to peatlands.
The Closing Conference for the Project “Restoration of wetlands and peatlands in the Center Region” was attended by Dan Ștefan CHIRU, MMAP state secretary, Teodor DULCEAȚĂ, MMAP deputy general secretary, Elena MATEESCU, general director of the National Meteorological Administration, Marisanda PÎRÎIANU, RO – Environment programme manager, Korodi Attila, mayor of Miercurea – Ciuc municipality, Robert Szep, director of the Research and Development Institute for Hunting and Mountain Resources (ICDCRM) – Miercurea Ciuc, members of Programme Implementation Unit of the RO – Environment Programme, Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests, Valeriu TABĂRĂ, president of the Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences “Gheorghe Ionescu Şișești”, Aurel Florentin BADIU, vice-president of the “Gheorghe Ionescu Sișești” Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, representatives of ANANP, ANAR, INHGA and members of the Project Promoter’s implementation team.
