Bucharest Community Foundation to run environmental programs after investment from ING Bank

The Bucharest Community Foundation and ING Bank Romania are set to continue the Environmental Platform for Bucharest, a strategic program initiated to help urban natural areas in the city, with a EUR 2 million investment.

The two partners aim to continue to invest strategically to address the complex environmental problems affecting Bucharest. Of the new round of investments, EUR 1.25 million goes towards the protection, knowledge, and conservation of five new urban nature areas in Bucharest, modeled on the Vacaresti Nature Park, and EUR 750,000 goes towards the “In your area” project, which supports environmental initiatives coming from small communities in the city.

The Dambovita “meadow” at the entrance to Lake Morii, Petricani Meadow, Dobroiesti, and Valea Saulei lakes (part of the “salube” of lakes on the Colentina River), as well as the Baneasa Forest, will be the urban areas in Bucharest that will benefit from conservation through this funding. With a total area of around 1,400 hectares, they are home to a rich natural heritage, including various bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species, which deserve recognition and protection.

At the same time, through a call for civic involvement, the Bucharest Community Foundation invites people from 43 well-defined communities to turn their complaints into ideas, ideas into projects, and projects into actions, as part of the “In your area” program.

Until February 1, together with CeRe: Resource Centre for Public Participation, the Foundation is conducting a survey to identify the environmental problems of the inhabitants of these communities, but also to get in touch with people willing to get involved in solving them through community activities, and then offering them the opportunity to register their ideas in a project incubator.

Then, together with experts, local people’s ideas can be turned into viable environmental projects and, at the end of the incubator, selected projects can receive funding and other resources for implementation.

“The ambitious mission to make Bucharest a better city for its inhabitants starts with the air we breathe and the environment we live in, with an impact on people’s well-being and quality of life. The capital has become an increasingly congested city through accelerated development in multiple areas, which sometimes makes us lose sight of the costs that come with this pace. That’s why we’re glad to have partners who understand the need of the citizens of Bucharest to live healthy, sustainable, and modern lives in their city. At the same time, we call on people to identify and get involved in solving the problems of their community, because only together can we enjoy our city as we deserve," said Alina Kasprovschi, Executive Director of the Bucharest Community Foundation.