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Description
Grasslands are semi-natural habitats, maintained by humans, that represent an enormous value in conserving biodiversity and in the fight against climate change. Nonetheless, grasslands are not appreciated as they should be either by the public, or by the authorities. Grassland management doesn’t pay off and public authorities don’t take the necessary measures to stop their disappearance. Consequently, the grasslands are degraded or disappear in Romania, as they can no longer fulfil the essential roles as service providers of the ecosystems. The aim of the project is to stop the phenomenon of grassland disappearance. We intend to draw a warning and bring to public discourse the phenomenon of disappearance and degradation of grasslands by informing the target groups (farmers, responsible authorities, etc.) on the value of these habitats. At the same time, we intend to raise awareness on the value of these habitats among the selected target-groups (farmers, public authorities etc.) and to put pressure on public authorities through legal disputes and file a complaint to the European Commission for Romania regarding the non-fulfilment of the commitments assumed on the occasion of accession, when Romania undertook to maintain the surface of the existing grasslands at that time. Beside these endeavors, we strive to reverse the disappearance of grasslands and to actively involve farmers in improving the current agri-environmental policies and in elaborating new measures to ensure the long-term preservation of grasslands in Romania, but also their rentability for the farmers who administer them. Both Milvus Group and its partner, the Transylvanian Carpathia Society Satu Mare, are experienced in managing agricultural lands in protected areas. Moreover, the partner has a vast experience in judicial litigations against authorities and has also participated in the infringement procedure against Romania over illegal logging in primary forests.
Summary of project results
Grasslands are semi-natural habitats, maintained by humans, that represent an enormous value in conserving biodiversity and in the fight against climate change. Nonetheless, grasslands are not appreciated as they should be either by the public, or by the authorities. Grassland management doesn’t pay off and public authorities don’t take the necessary measures to stop their disappearance. Consequently, the grasslands are degraded or disappear in Romania, as they can no longer fulfil the essential roles as service providers of the ecosystems.
In order to stop the disappearance of grasslands, the project raised the alarm and brought the importance of grasslands in the context of climate change into the public discourse, informing target groups about the value of these habitats. These activities included:, information and awareness-raising activities dedicated to students and master’s students, presence at public events with promotional materials of the project, social media postings related to the importance of grasslands, development of a website with updated information on different instruments (GAEC, eco-schemes, etc.) of the National Strategic Plan (NSP) and development of an educational material on grasslands. In order to formulate recommendations for improving AE packages, the causes of grassland loss were investigated through a sociological survey of farmers and grassland users. To ensure that the recommendations were scientifically based, the partners developed a methodology for assessing the biodiversity of grassland benefiting from agri-environmental, and requested public interest information from the authorities. The Romanian NSP and the plans of five other EU Member States were analysed and the promoter actively participated in the consultations organised by the MADR, both on environmental and climate measures and in the debates on the new NSP. Meetings with 114 farmers from different parts of the country who have access to different agri-environmental packages were organised.
Based on all information, the promoter made many recommendations for improvements to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. 5 Cases of grassland destruction in Natura 2000 sites were documented and pressure has been put on the authorities through legal actions and a complained to the European Commission - it is expected that Romania will be forced to take measures in order to stop the loss of meadows at national level and restore the percentage area of meadows in the country, especially from the Natura 2000 sites, existing on the date of Romania''s accession to the European Union. Both partner organizations, as former custodians of Natura 2000 protected areas, will continue their watchdog role in the years to come, and will report to the authorities all irregularities observed in these areas.