Romania
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and Bulgaria enrich the EU – will the EU invest wisely in these riches?
16 Feb 2007
By Andreas Beckmann*
The EU struck it rich when Romania and Bulgaria joined the Union on January 1,
2007.
Romania and Bulgaria bring with them a very rich dowry of natural treasures,
including the Union’s greatest wilderness areas and rich cultural landscapes.
They are home to over half of the EU’s population of brown bears, wolves and
other large carnivores as well as the continent’s largest remaining fragments
of natural forest.
It is a patrimony not only of these countries, but also now of the European
Union as a whole. Will the EU invest wisely in these resources?
Europe’s treasures
Romania includes the greater part of the spectacular Danube Delta as well as
the Carpathian Mountains – 2 of the 200 most valuable natural areas on earth.
With two-thirds of the Carpathians within its territory, Romania is home to
Europe’s largest population of large carnivores, including half of the
continent’s bears, and over a third of its populations of wolves and lynx. The
Romanian Carpathians are also home to the largest areas of virgin forests on
the European continent.
Most of the Danube Delta, Europe’s largest delta and wetland area, also lies in
Romania. Before flowing into the Black Sea, the Danube spreads over a surface
area of about 580,000 ha, creating a wetland home for a staggering range and
abundance of plants and animals, and an important stop-over point for migratory
birds.
Bulgaria’s natural treasures range from the islands and floodplains of the
Lower Danube to Balkan mountains and Black Sea coast. The 75 islands in the
Danube river that belong to Bulgaria contain some of the richest wetland
habitats in the Danube basin. Covering a total area of 10,713 hectares, the
islands offer refuge and food for migratory and threatened bird species such as
the dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus), ferruginous duck (Aytya nyroca), and
red-breasted goose (Branta ruficolis).
The rugged Pirin Mountains in the southwest of Bulgaria include a national park
(40,000 ha) that is included in the UNESCO list of World Natural Heritage
sites. Equally famous for their beauty are the Rhodope and Vitosha Mountains.
The uniqueness of many of the habitats and species on the Black Sea has been
recognised by the European Commission, which, for purposes of developing the
EU’s network of conservation areas (the so-called Natura 2000 network), has
designated a separate, special Black Sea biogeographic region.
Challenge – and opportunity
However rich Romania and Bulgaria’s natural treasure chests are, the two
countries are still living well beyond their ecological means. According to
WWF-International’s latest ecological footprint report (October 2006), both
countries are consuming resources and producing waste at a level beyond the
carrying capacity of the countries and the earth. If everyone on the planet
consumed as many resources and produced as much waste as the average Romanian
or Bulgarian, we would need around 2 planets – still better than the 3-planet
EU average, but still living at the cost of future generations. For a start,
intensity of energy use in both countries is significantly higher than in
Western Europe.
The great challenge – and opportunity – in the EU’s newest members is to “have
our cake and eat it too”: to raise standards of living while holding onto, and
indeed profiting from, the rich store of natural capital with which these
countries are endowed.
The question is not whether Bulgaria and Romania should develop, but rather how
this can and should take place. We need to develop smartly – to do more with
less material resources, and in such a way as to tread more lightly on the
environment that sustains us.
Bold steps
Both Romania and Bulgaria have already taken a number of bold steps toward
securing their prodigious natural wealth and achieving long-term sustainable
development.
In 2000, the governments of Bulgaria and Romania together with those of Ukraine
and Moldova signed an agreement to establish the Lower Danube Green Corridor, a
band of protected and restored wetland areas stretching the Danube’s last 1000
km from the Iron Gates on the border between Romania and Serbia to the mouth of
the Black Sea, and including the spectacular Danube Delta. Involving nearly 1
million ha of protected areas as well as some 240,000 ha of restored areas, the
corridor is the most ambitious wetland conservation project in Europe.
The Romanian government in particular has redoubled its efforts toward these
commitments in response to recent flood events, thus taking the lead among the
EU leaders in shifting reliance for flood protection to natural measures.
Both Romania and Bulgaria have taken significant steps to ensure the long-term
sustainable management of their exceptionally rich forest resources. The
Romanian State Forest Company has secured certification for 1 million ha of
forests, and has pledged to secure certification for the remaining 1.5 million
ha in state hands. The Bulgarian State Forest Administration is currently
working toward certification of another 1 million ha in Bulgaria. These
measures have been strengthened by recent Romanian legislation that provides
tax incentives for
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FSC certified management.
Nevertheless, substantial challenges remain for both countries.
A prominent example of the challenges facing the countries’ natural heritage is
the state of national parks and other protected areas, whose protection on
paper has meant little in practice. In Romania’s Piatra Craiului National Park,
as in many others, large swathes of forested areas are being clear-cutted.
Other natural jewels are being lost due to illegal or semi-legal construction,
including private villas, hotels and holiday homes. The last natural sections
of the Black Sea coastline are being lost, e.g. in Bulgaria’s Strandzha Nature
Park. Ski facilities have been built illegally at Bansko within the core zone
of Bulgaria’s Pirin National Park, a World Heritage Site. Plans are now
underway to expand these facilities. In November of this year, the Romanian
government adopted a
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national plan for developing ski tourism in the country, which calls for
construction of ski facilities in 8 national and 3 nature parks.
As part of its Trans-European Network for Transportation, the EU has identified
the Danube as one of the key transportation arteries for Europe. The
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EU plans call for removing a series of "bottlenecks" to shipping along the
river -- areas that happen to be the most valuable natural areas on the river.
Fortunately, there are alternatives, including innovative ship technology that
for once fit the boats to the river rather than the river to the boats.
EU legislation and policies
Fortunately, in moving forward, Bulgaria and Romania can draw on plenty of
lessons and experience – both good and bad, but all instructive – from their EU
neighbours. They also can rely on key EU support and legislation.
Up to € 34 billion will be made available for development and support to
agriculture and rural development through the EU Structural Funds as well as
the Common Agricultural Policy.
Substantial progress has been made in reforming EU funds to promote sustainable
development and conservation of resources rather than encouraging their
destruction. WWF has been working closely with the Ministries of Agriculture
and Environment in both countries to develop agri-environmental measures that
can reward farmers for taking care of the land and its natural resources. There
are also substantial opportunities to use EU regional development funding for
promoting sustainable development and nature conservation.
EU legislation for Strategic and Environmental Impact Assessments provide an
important mechanism for evaluating programmes and projects in order to avoid or
limit negative impact to the environment.
The EU’s Natura 2000 network of specially protected sites is the cornerstone of
EU conservation policy and the key tool for achieving its aim of halting
biodiversity loss and achieving long-term sustainable development. Far from
freezing development, in many cases, Natura 2000 enhances, and even requires,
socioeconomic activities.
The EU’s innovative Water Framework Directive provides a goal and blueprint for
achieving good ecological status of EU waterways by 2015 through a process of
integrated river basin management involving all relevant stakeholders.
Finding smart solutions
Achieving sustainable development will not be easy. In many cases, it will
require balancing the short-term interests of (often powerful) individuals with
the long-term interests of society as a whole.
EU legislation and institutions can play a key role in helping Romania and
Bulgaria to strike this balance. The European Commission, in particular, as
guardian of the EU Treaties, must stand firm to ensure proper implementation of
EU conservation policy and use of EU funds in a manner that prepares the
countries for the future.
With decisions on EU accession and major funds and legislation already made,
the next major legislative milestones for the European Parliament and European
Council will come in a couple of years with the mid-term reviews of the EU
Funds and relevant legislation. In the meantime, though, there is plenty for
Members of Parliament and other Member States to do to actively promote and
encourage conservation and sustainable development in Romania and Bulgaria,
including through parliamentary questions and promoting awareness and
understanding.
EU citizens can also play an important role by supporting the efforts of
organisations like WWF to ensure that the EU indeed invests wisely in its
newfound riches in Romania and Bulgaria.
* Andreas Beckmann ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) is Deputy Director of the WWF
Danube-Carpathian Programme.
End notes:
WWF has just completed campaigns to save national parks and other protected
areas in
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Romania and
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Bulgaria. Over 50,000 Bulgarians and 11,000 Romanians have signed petitions
calling on their authorities to take action to stop illegal construction,
logging and poaching in their countries’ protected areas.
Page last updated: February 16, 2007. © All photos/graphics remain the
copyright of WWF
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Vali
"Noble blood is an accident of fortune; noble actions are the chief mark of
greatness." (Carlo Goldoni)
"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know
peace." (Jimi Hendrix)
