FEDERATION COALITION NATURA 2000 ROMANIA The custodians of the protected areas – Guardians of nature removed by the Romanian Government The NGO Federation „Coalition Natura 2000” Romania publicly disapproves the adopted Emergency Governmental Ordinance 75/2018 concerning the recent changes of the environmental legislation to eliminate the custodians from 530 protected areas. Through this ordinance, the Constitutional right of the civil society to actively contribute to the maintenance of a healthy environment for the Romanian citizens is restricted. To fulfill the provisions of the contract signed with the Ministry of Environment to watch over the natural and cultural values of the protected areas, the custodians ensured that the projects undertaken by third parties have minimal impact in these areas. According to the argumentation note of this EGO, the Ministry of Environment, the institution in charge of nature conservation, unfairly blames the custodians for the delay or failure of some infrastructure projects, without taking into account that these delays were usually a direct consequence of the poor quality of the environmental impact studies. Although the means to correct these mistakes have always been in their hands, the Ministry preferred to act in a radical, non-constructive way, i.e. enforcing solutions, instead of solving the real problems. The Governmental decision to cancel the custody comes shortly after the appointment of a new president at the National Agency for Natural Protected Areas (NANPA), and is even more surprising considering the assessment of the custodians activity in 2017 by NANPA, the conclusion being that in most cases, the managers and custodians successfully respect their obligations and contractual provisions: 94% of the NANPA rating was “very good” and “good” (276 out of a total of 295). In its official assessment, NANPA stated that the vulnerabilities for the management of protected areas are beyond the responsibility and power of the managers and require support from the state. The main pressures identified by NANPA are “the lack of stable funding and continuous changes of legislation”, as well as the pressures exerted by the “beneficiaries (of infrastructure projects) to receive permits for their plans/projects/activities” 1. The projects attracted in over 100 Natura 2000 sites by custodians, to compensate the lack of funding and carry on management activities or support the local communities, are now blocked by this ordinance.
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http://ananp.gov.ro/ananp/2017/12/21/raport-evaluare-custozi-administratori/
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FEDERATION COALITION NATURA 2000 ROMANIA This EGO 75/2018 also represents a discrimination of the environmental NGOs, 60 organizations being removed from the custodian position, without allowing them to take part in the management of the protected areas which requires special teams, with high capabilities and expertise. Hence, the GO proves the intention of the ministry not only to cancel the custody, but also to discriminatorily eliminate the NGOs from the management of the protected areas. The ordinance was issued over-night, without any prior consultation with the stakeholders, and as a reason for this emergency, the Government declares its willingness to simplify the process to grant permits for the infrastructure projects, centralizing the process to approve investments in protected areas. By eliminating the custodians, those who protected the environmental values have no possibility to advocate for nature when the planned investments will destroy the biodiversity of the protected areas. By consequence, the biodiversity will decline even more, compromising the achievement of the EU Biodiversity 2020 Strategy and the implementation of the EU environmental directives and international conventions ratified by Romania. The protected areas are not an obstacle for the economic development, as many politicians consider, on the contrary, the benefits provided by the natural ecosystems represent the basis of human existence and the only way to reach a sustainable development of the region. But for the natural heritage to be maintained and used in a responsible way, it is necessary that the constitutional right of the civil society to contribute to the maintenance of a healthy environment is respected, and the environmental stakeholders (including the NGOs) are being actively involved in the management process. Through its intention to centralize the management of protected areas in the hands of the same people who grant the permits for developing infrastructure projects, the Emergency Government Order 75/2018 paves the way for abuses on the natural heritage and hence, the Coalition Natura 2000 will resort to all legal ways to stop it.
8 August 2018
Federation Coalition Natura 2000
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