Four Romanian NGO’s raised their voice for the sustainable development of the Danube Delta, one of our rewilding areas. The most important of demands of the four organisations are also included in the vision for the Danube Delta rewilding initiative.
“Call for a living Danube Delta” was announced in Tulcea during the Danube Environmental Forum (27-29 June 2013) by Association “Ivan Patzaichin-Mila 23”, Save the Danube Delta, the Association of Ecotourism in Romania, and WWF- Romania.
It brings serious issues of the Danube Delta to the public attention: the deterioration of habitats and ecosystems; the fact that Danube Delta is the poorest region in the country and the EU; and the lack of alternatives for population, leading to increased pressure on non-renewable resources. In this context, the four NGOs propose to adopt a common strategy in the Delta to join conservation with economic interests: Sustainable Development Strategy of the Danube Delta in accordance with European Union Strategy for environmental infrastructures. The strategy is taking into account a set of principles for sustainable development of the area:
- Nature (the ecological reconstruction, the conservation and species protection, the sustainable management of natural resources);
- People (the preservation of cultural specificity, the promotion and enhancement of the multicultural patrimony, the access to education and health, the administrative decentralization, the boost training, the local involvement in reservation management) and
- Economy (the sustainable fisheries, the development of public-private partnerships, the reducing or not allocated the subsidies for agricultural land, the development and promotion of the delta as a wild destination, the promotion of the green infrastructure in the Delta, integrated strategy for mobility, the use of green energy in delta, the demolition of old facilities.).
The four NGOs expressed the openness and interest to participate in the development of a Sustainable Development Strategy for the Danube Delta in accordance with the principles of the future EU Strategy on green infrastructure. So far, there is no response from the local authorities on the “Call for a living Danube Delta”.
Tulcea Forum brought together high-level policy makers, stakeholders, researchers and representatives of NGOs to discuss environmental, but also economic development relevant to the Danube Delta.
“Rewilding Europe wishes Danube Delta where people live in harmony with nature. The sustainable development of the local communities needs to focus on nature-based businesses that can help restore and maintain natural resources; ecological restoration is the only solution for restoring biodiversity and natural processes of the Delta,” said Cristian Tetelea, Rewilding Europe coordinator in the Danube Delta.