Published 2017-01-01
Keywords
- Birds directive,
- habitats directive,
- protected areas governance,
- Eastern European countries
How to Cite
Copyright (c) 2022 European Journal of Geography
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Prior to Romania’s joining the European Union in 2007, the Romanian government assumed
the responsibility to fully implement Community legislation in the field of nature
conservation. This led to a rapid increase of protected surface areas (from 7% in 2005 to 20%
in 2009) and a significant overlapping of EU and national protected areas. Due to a lack of
resources, the governance of protected area transformed from state management exclusitory
to a participatory one. Currently, the Romanian government is still a key actor in
conservation and governance of protected area, organizing the decision-making process but
delegating the responsibility for the implementation of the conservation policies to other
organizations (e.g., local public bodies, enterprises, NGOs). We outline the changes in
protected areas governance and highlight the emerging key non-governmental participants.
Furthermore, we compare Romania’s case to other governance models and discuss
opportunities for a more decentralized system. A transparent decision-making approach is
required for a better interconnection between all the institutions involved in the
administration and also for improving governance of Natura 2000 protected areas in
Romania.