ROMANIA

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The green belt and the garbage belt

If you travel to Romania by air and the sky is clear you will see a huge green belt: the Carpathian Mountains. The alpine peaks look like a fortress defending the country's many natural treasures: crystal clear glacial lakes, pristine forests and untouched caves with breathtaking crystals. Large carnivores, like the bear, the wolf or the lynx, still cross these forests, while people dwelling nearby still inhabit small villages, as they did centuries ago, carefully preserving the old traditions.

If you travel to Romania by train or car you will see another huge belt, this time surrounding virtually every city: a belt of ugly, foul-smelling garbage, the by-products of “modern times.”

Dealing with this waste is one of the most urgent environmental issues in present-day Romania.

In Bucharest, out of the 1,622 tonnes of waste produced every day, 79 tonnes are recycled and 1,339 tonnes are collected – which means that 204 tonnes of waste goes uncollected ever day, in the capital city alone. Nationwide, the uncollected garbage poses a threat to the human environment and human health – and the natural environment as well.

And it is a rich natural environment. Romania has expansive and valuable ecosystems that give the county exceptional biodiversity as well as an unusual abundance of certain species. In all, 47 percent of the land area of the country is covered with natural and semi-natural ecosystems. Since almost half of all forests in Romania have been managed for watershed conservation rather than production, Romania has one of the largest areas of undisturbed forest in Europe. The integrity of Romanian forest ecosystems is indicated by the presence of the full range of European forest fauna, including 60 percent of all of the continent's European brown bears and 40 percent of its wolves. Europe's largest wetland, the Danube Delta, also lies predominatly in Romania.

Romania has also a large portion of Black Sea coast (228 km) and associated sand dune and coastal ecosystems. The over 8,000 caves located primarly in the south-west of the country, major grasslands, caves and an extensive network of rivers add to the richness of the ecosystem diversity.

But there are many problems putting pressure on this precious environment. Aside from the garbage problem, a state of the environment report notes problems with water and air:

Because industrial production is still declining, air pollution from industrial activity seem to be less of an urgent concern. Though it is still an issue, it is not as “hot” as it was in the early ’90s. Privatisation and improvements in legislation are also starting to play a role in reducing this pollution. Of course, there are still areas with very high industrial pollution, Baia Mare being just one example.

But it's the garbage that seems to be the most urgent problem. The refuse is everywhere-- in the center of Bucharest, around every city, near every village, on the banks of every river and in the fields.

The problem has encouraged some action: Citizens are starting to organise, local authorities are doing what they can, and non-governmental organisations are getting involved too. But it is difficult to fight the wasteful habits of new consumerism in a society which, for four decades, had almost no waste. Previously, everything was recycled – either by the state order or by the people’s needs.

It takes time to change people’s way of thinking, it takes time to pass legislation and it will take even more time for the legislation to be effectively enforced.