Bucharest's five additional natural areas and the case for protecting them

Having Văcărești Nature Park as a model, the founders of the urban nature park, sometimes referred to as the Văcărești Delta, are working to give the city five additional protected areas serving as zones of biodiversity and educational and recreation settings.

Văcărești was established as the first urban nature park in the country in 2016, following the efforts of the Văcărești Nature Park Association. Located five kilometers away from downtown Bucharest, it is the city's largest compact green area, covering 183 hectares that nature reclaimed after a Communist-era hydro-technic project was abandoned. The Văcărești Nature Park Association, which administered the park until 2018, is now working to add five additional protected areas as the Văcărești Park turns into a replicable model for initiatives aiming to preserve and restore biodiversity in urban environments. The five areas are Pajiștea Petricani (Petricani Meadow), Bălțile de la Dobroiești și Valea Saulei (Dobroiesti and Valea Saulei ponds, part of the network of lakes on the Colentina river), Lunca Dâmboviței (the "delta" of Dâmbovița at the entrance to Morii Lake) and Băneasa Forest.