Actions to protect the environment
Romanian environmentalists have taken action to protect the environment.
Corina Cristea, 02.06.2015, 14:12
EU Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Cretu has expressed her concern about the possibility of the alpine landscape being destroyed by the building of a waste dump in Suceava County, north-eastern Romania. That ecological landfill is designed to be built over an area of 4.4 hectares close to the summit of one of the most beautiful mountain passes in Romania: Mestecanis. The landfill is due to receive all household waste from the mountainous areas in Suceava County.
Corina Cretu has expressed her concern over that project in an open letter to the Romanian Minister of the Environment, Waters and Forestry Gratiela Gavrilescu and to the Minister of European Funds Marius Nica. “The landscape of the Carpathian Mountains is one of the greatest natural assets in Romania and Europe, and I want to make sure that European funds are not used to endanger this invaluable resource, Corina Cretu pointed out. The EU official has thus joined the community of citizens and journalists who have warned about the construction of the landfill, which is in fact an integral part of a waste management project. The EU Commissioner has called on the Romanian authorities to see that the relevant legislation is observed when building the landfill, underscoring that all projects must comply with the legislation in force as regards the assessment of environment risks.
That means that public and environment authorities, at both local and national level, must be consulted for the necessary licenses and approval to be obtained. Additionally, public consultations must be held in the first phases of the project. The project is seemingly aimed at developing a sound waste management system for the entire county, in keeping with the European environment legislation and Romanias objectives in the EU accession treaty in the field of waste management, Corina Cretu also said.
Another environmental protection action was staged in Hunedoara County, south-western Romania, where dozens of activists from various regions and from abroad joined forces in a protest and an awareness-raising campaign with respect to illegal logging and abusive wood exports. Protesters are also displeased with construction works in protected areas, reserves, national parks or in their immediate vicinity, as well as with the construction of a small hydropower plant on the Alb River, one of the few rivers in Romania untouched by human hands. The protest came one week after a conflict in the Dinosaur Geopark, where environmentalists clashed with representatives of the company commissioned to build the hydropower plant on the River Alb, an incident that triggered an inspection of contractor licenses.
