INTEGRATIVE APPROACHES TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY JURMALA, MAY 11-14, 2005, LATVIA

1. INTEGRATIVE APPROACHES TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY JURMALA, MAY 11-14, 2005, LATVIA A GEOGRAPHICAL APPROACH TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE LOWER DANUBE-BLACK SEA BASIN. CASE-STUDIES ROMANIAN ACADEMY INSTITUTE OF GEOGRAPHY MIHAELA SERBAN

2. CONTENT • Environmental trends of the Romanian Danube-Black Sea Basin • Main environmental threats to sustainable development in Romania • Sustainable development and global environmental change • Sustainable development in Romania - Legislative framework • Case studies

3. Danube-Black Sea space RO

4. GENERAL MAP OF ROMANIA

5. NATURAL HAZARDS

6. Eastern Carpathians – Seismic region Vrancea

7. CUCULEŞTI MUDFLOW – BUZĂU SUBCARPATHIANS 2003

8. Technological hazards in the lower Danube-Black Sea Basin

10. AGRICULTURE • Land Fund Law (No. 18/1991) – a fundamental change of property over the land • The transition from state and collective property to private ownership • The land was divided among a large number of owners (4.7 millions), each acquiring under 2 hectares • the allocated piece of land is often fragmented into several parcels, over 47 million parcels emerged after the implementation of the Law 1990 2002

11. The main environmental issues in the Danube – Black Sea System, Romania • extreme events (landslides, floods, storms) due to climate change; • loss of biodiversity; • desertification tendencies; • deforestation; • land degradation; • high nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorous) loads; • competition for available water; • overexploitation of surface and groundwater; • changes in river flow patterns, including transport of sediment; • contamination with hazardous substances; • accidental pollution; • degradation and loss of wetlands; • NATECH hazards (natural triggering technological hazards)

12. CLIMATE CHANGE

13. Romania – annual mean temperature evolution trends during the XX-th century Sararu, 2003 • A slight increasing trend in the annual mean temperatures and a decrease in precipitations

14. The flow water (daily mean discharge) and the precipitation variations at Tinoasa (2002) • A tendency of precipitation concentration • over short time intervals and an increase • of their torrential character • rapid snowmelting Miţă, Mătreaţă, 2004 • flush flood events in small catchments

15. ROMANIA: JULY - AUGUST 2002 FLOODS IN THE GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE CONTEXT

17. Counties affected by floods in April 2005 • Consequences: • 7 casualties; • 5000 evacuated people; • 4000 affected houses; • 100 000 ha agricultural land; • 500 bridges and small bridges; • 17 km national roads and 52 km county roads

18. Source: Timis Online

19. Source: Timis Online

20. Source: Timis Online

21. DROUGHT AND FLOOD EVENTS • desertification tendencies in the Southern Romania; • increased frequency of springtime flooding and induced technological accidents; • tornado events;

22. Source: Ministry of Waters and Environmental Protection, 2002

23. The lowest Danube level in the last 160 years Zimnicea, 30 august 2003 Foto: Jeni Drăgoi

24. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN ROMANIA – LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK • Sustainable Development Strategy, 1999 • Twinning Project between Italy and Romania on “Environment Statistics Survey”, National Institute of Statistics, 2002-2004 • A study on sustainable development indicators • Sustainable Development Strategy of Romania “Orizont 2025” (to be elaborated)

25. Level I: Thematic areas Specific objectives Indicators DPSIR Targets Activities Climate change and energy Improving the efficiency of thermo-electrical equipments; • GHG emissions; • 2. Total annual CO2emissions/loc; • 3. Total annual energy consumption. S S P Reduction GHG emissions with 8% during 2008 – 2012. National Commission for Climate Change, implementing the issues specified by UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Romania has ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2001. Nature and biodiversity Protection of biodiversity; desertification prevention and reduction; • Total forest area: • Forest area dynamics; • Aforestation dynamics. • 2. Total protected areas S R • Increasing forest area from 27% to 35% until 2040 • Increasing the protected surface from 2,56% (1990) to 10% (2015) For diversity protection, Romania has ratified the Convention of Biological Diverity in 1992. In 1992 it was declared the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve. For increasing forested area, the Development Strategy for Forests elaborated by MAPAM, approved by Romanian Government has 2 programmes focused on aforestation. List of indicators, according to thematic areas and DPSIR model National Institute of Statistics, 2004

26. CASE STUDIES

27. BAIA MARE - TECHNOLOGICAL ACCIDENT AND TRANSBOUNDARY POLLUTION JANUARY AND MARCH 2000 • Two tailings dam failures in Maramures county resulted in the release of 200 000 m³ of contaminated water and 40 000 tonnes of tailings into tributaries of the Tisa River, a major tributary of the Danube. • Following these accidents, Institute of Geography in collaboration with the University of Wales, UK initiated a research programme in northwest Romania to establish metal levels in rivers affected by the present and historic mining activities.

28. 2000-2005 > 1100 SAMPLES, 350 SITES 2000 • River systems categories: • with historical mining activity, presently inactive; • with historical and present mining activity; • with opportunities for the opening of new exploitations • with tailings dam accidents 1971

29. “Aurul” tailings pond “Bozânta 1” tailings pond (inactive)

30. 2001 33 sites 828 km

31. Zn concentrations in the River Sasar 2000 2001 2002 2003 target value imperative value

32. Zn Bioavailable < target Bioavailable > target Bioavailable > intervention

33. Use of private supply groundwater in Maramureş Samples taken from 96 households

34. Zn concentrations in domestic wells vs. distance from river channel in the Someş catchment

35. Zn concentrations in domestic wells vs distance from contaminant point source in the Someş catchment

36. Certej river basin: a mining affected basin • 78 km2 catchment containing the 40.05 km2 Certej-Coranda mining concession. • Mining history dating back to the Roman period. • Current open-cast exploitation at Coranda with ore processed in Certeju de Sus. • Two tailings ponds in the catchment: Miresului (inactive) and Mialu (active). • Historical tailings dam failure in 1971. • 70 samples taken from 30 sample sites. inactive tailings dam 1971 accident site active tailings dam

37. River Certej: Cd in surface waters and river channel sediments

38. Aries river: 51 sample sections (2002 – 2003)

39. Rosia river, a mining affected tributary Rosia Poieni quarry

40. Aries river: Cu concentration in surface water (2002-2003)

41. Aries river: Cu concentration in channel sediments (2002-2003)