Description
In Lower Siret Floodplain protected area the level of awareness among local communities and stakeholders concerning the negative impact of invasive tree species on forest ecosystems is low. The objective of the project is to boost capacity of the Association to administrate the Natura 2000 Lower Siret Floodplain site by involving communities in eradication of invasive trees. The project aims changing attitude of target groups toward risk of invasive species on biodiversity and to involve local communities in the effort of eradication and preventing spreading of invasive trees. Action Plan, awareness campaign, Voluntary Code of Conduct and Certification Scheme will be developed in order to involve local communities in eradication activities. The Certification Scheme will be disseminated to other protected area administrator as good practices. Project beneficiaries: town halls, forestry authorities, road administrators, land owners, guesthouses owners, teaching staff and citizens.
Summary of project results
In Romania, efforts towards reducing the invasive species infestation are in a primary stage. Even though at a national level the Biodiversity Strategy 2020 was embraced, no tangible action plan for the management of invasive species has been drafted yet. The goal of the project was to boost the capacity of Biodiversity Conservations Association – the custodian of the Lower Siret Floodplain protected area – to administrate the Natura 2000 site, involving local communities in eradication activities of invasive tree species (false indigo-bush and heaven tree). The main beneficiaries of the project were: town halls, forestry authorities, road administrators, and land owners, the teaching staff and citizens. The data base that includes the distribution and density of invasive tree species within Lower Siret Floodplain protected area underlined the adoption of the Action plan and the Voluntary Code of conduct by the Environmental Protection Agency Vrancea, Environmental Protection Agency Galati and Environmental Protection Agency Braila. The Voluntary Code of Conduct is a tool addressed to interested bodies and organizations involved in resource management as well as local communities and it covers objectives and management actions planned for 2015-2020. The tool was developed to involve the local communities in preventing new potential invasions and to slow down and reduce the negative impact of the false indigo-bush and the heaven tree against the Lower Siret Floodplain protected area and biodiversity. The application of the Action plan was backed by the 3 partnerships signed with the Environmental Protection Agency Vrancea, the Environmental Protection Agency Galati and the Environmental Protection Agency Braila. Within the educational campaign at least 15,500 people were informed about the impact of these invasive species. 7 debates with local authorities and interested locals attending, the Caravan that visited all the 31 administrative units, as well as the 4 lessons organized in schools, were part of the educational campaign. Printed educational tools were also used during the campaign, such as flyers, posters, and leaflets, as well as social media channels, blogs, and national newspapers. Following the educational campaign, the Action plan and the Voluntary code implementation offered good practice examples. The Biodiversity Conservation Association assisted and certified 3 households as “Free of invasive species!” properties.
Summary of bilateral results