Description
Even though the natural heritage and biodiversity of Romania is remarkably rich and unique the degradation of the environment has become, in general and also in the protected areas, a major issue. The objective of the project is to support sustainable development and help improving the state of the environment in the protected areas through the involvement of local communities. Therefore, education programs will be held for students and information campaign will be conducted through the channels of mass-media and internet about the importance of biodiversity and environment preservation. Raising awareness among locals and the general public as well as training park rangers and volunteer rangers will enhance the development of a sustainable and well-supervised eco-tourism. Furthermore, it will help the emergence of a more participative citizenry and as a result the protection of biodiversity in the Retezat National Park and Narcissus Meadows can be increased. The Ranger Association of Iceland and RRA will exchange know-how about natural values, while the Retezat National Park Administration will coordinate the field activities organized in the project area.
Summary of project results
Even though the natural heritage and biodiversity of Romania is remarkably rich and unique, the degradation of the environment has become, in general and also in the protected areas, a major issue. The main objective of the project, which was to improve the state of the environment in the Retezat National Park, was achieved through engaging the local communities. Within the project, 44 rangers and protected area custodians were trained, 6 rangers travelled to Iceland for exchanging experience with the rangers of Iceland, 26 young students were trained as Junior Rangers and other 15 people living in the area completed a training course to become Volunteer Rangers in Retezat National Park. Together with the rangers and Mountain Guards, they contributed to the Volunteer Ranger Programme for the protection of the park, diminishing the human impact on the area. Not only preventive patrolling for compliance with Regulations of the Retezat National Park was conducted, but they also performed activities to inform and educate visitors. As part of this programme, a part of the tourism infrastructure, including the thematic route "chamois and their neighbours", was repaired. To protect the daffodils, women from Tara Hategului made replicas of this flower and also edelweiss to be offered by the volunteers as a reward to the tourists who don’t pick flowers at the Daffodils Festival. At the Handmade Workshops, small souvenirs for tourists were created, which became a source of income for the community. In order to promote the area, the following materials were published: a photo album with pictures of Retezat Mountains, a booklet presenting tourist attractions in the area, postcards, and a booklet with thematic routes in Retezat National Park and Tara Hategului. New information boards were placed in the park and at the Visitor Centres. More than 2,000 school children and teachers were involved in educational programmes and in environmental contests. Due to the implementation of this project, the organisation became more visible and the ranger profession is now better known and understood than at the beginning of the project, when the rangers were considered foresters. For the first time in Romania, the International Ranger Day was celebrated.
Summary of bilateral results
The activities that implied the visits of 6 Romanian Ranger Association members in National Parks and Protected Areas in Iceland and of 6 Icelandic Rangers in Parks and Protected Areas in Romania took place in 2015, each of them lasting 6 days. It was a very useful exchange of experience, which allowed the on-site evaluation of the ranger work. The main themes were: rangers work and responsibilities, tourist management, interpretation for adults and children in national parks, management of historic places, visitor management and guidance for children and adults, dealing with visitors impact – things to do and how to diminish the impact on the pathways and trails, problems in protected areas and lessons learned, involving volunteers in ranger activities, junior ranger camps and activities, the role of volunteers in administering protected areas other than national and nature parks, education activities and cooperation with schools and teachers, nonformal education for children. The funds allotted for these activities did really contribute to strengthening the bilateral relations of the two organisations and to better understanding the problems the rangers face in the two countries. The conclusions of the two visits were presented at the annual meetings of the Romanian Ranger Association (RRA) and of the Ranger Association of Iceland. The cooperation contributed to the institutional and professional development of the RRA rangers and to a better visibility of the two organisations at international level, as their cooperation was presented both in European meetings as well as at the International Ranger Federation Congress in USA, in May 2016.