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Description
The addressed problem refers to the increasing amount of non-degradable waste that is abandoned in the natural areas of Romania, failing to enter into an appropriate collection or recycling system. Plastic waste already breaks down into microplastics and enters into the food chain and even into the atmosphere causing serious harm to animals and humans (UNEP, National Geographic and the journal Environmental Science and Technology). In addition, Romania loses its (eco)tourism destination image, with economic and social repercussions at national and local level. This project has a local component through the use of three ecotourism destinations in Romania, represented by three local ecotourism associations: Tara Dornelor, Tara Hategului-Retezat and Zarnesti-Piatra Craiului, (being officially recognized by the Ministry of Economy / National Tourism Authority). The aim is to rise the civic involvement of various target groups (youth, tourists, owners of tourism services, public administrations) in order to change the behavior of the local population regarding the disposal of waste in the natural environment and finding solutions by the local public administrations. The project also develops a national campaign to raise awareness of this problem, addressed especially through tourists, which will end with a national advocacy component. This advocacy action is directed to the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of the Environment and the Parliament in order to identify and implement a set of measures that will lead to a permanent solution to this problem and it will create the premises for initiating the national plan to stop the plastic pollution. The beneficiaries of this project are the locals from the three destinations, the local public administrations, the network of ecotourism services at the destination level, and at national level the entire population of Romania, Romanian tourists, as well as the foreign tourists.