Northern Romania: WWF project encourages civic involvement in environmental strategies in Maramureș

The inhabitants ofMaramureș county, northern Romania, can get involved in the environmental decision-making process in their area with the help of two tools developed by WWF Romania - the mobile app eFeedback and the online platform Natura2000mm.ro. They show in real time the legislative initiatives to be implemented in the Natura 2000 sites, and not only, in Maramureș county.

“The pilot project, which can be expanded to the national level, starts from the idea that any strategic planning should be based on locally identified problems and solutions, so the existence of civil society feedback is necessary before any strategies are finalized,” WWF said.

To substantiate this process, WWF and project partner GeoMMed conducted a study on the impact and resources needed to implement the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.

The two tools developed by WWF (the eFeedback mobile application available for free on Android and iOS and the online platform), which are based on a protocol signed with authorities, institutions, and representatives of civil society, were discussed with over 450 locals through the eFeedback Caravan. For two weeks at the end of last year, the caravan visited 40 Town Halls in Maramureș county and a Local Action Group in Baia Mare.

“As the European Union proposes a series of urgent actions to stop the decline of biodiversity, which must be implemented at the level of the member states, the caravan also presented the results of the impact study carried out at the level of Maramureș county,” WWF also stated in the press release.

The study, the non-profit said, assessed the socio-economic impact that a series of European measures would have at the level of the pilot area: the objectives to legally protect 30% of the land surface and ensure strict protection for 10% of this surface, to establish the set of criteria for the management of protected areas (effective management), and to ensure the strict protection of forests with primary structures.

(Photo source: Wwf.ro)