On 10 December, Michael Großmann, member of the ERF Council, and ERF Secretary Maria Gurscaia participated in an international conference on nature conservation organised by the non-governmental organisations Arnika (Czech Republic), Biotica (Republic of Moldova) and EcoContact (Republic of Moldova) in Chisinau, Moldova. The conference addressed the topic of ‘Approaches to the protection of nature reserves in Moldova, taking into account EU standards’.
Due to his extensive experience, Michael was invited to speak about European rangers: their tasks, mandates, training, equipment, recognition, legal status and working conditions, using examples from a European perspective. This is very important for Moldova, which is currently undergoing a process of changing its environmental legislation and also plans to introduce Natura 2000 at national level.
ERF Secretary moderated panel on species protection, community involvement and ranger work
Maria moderated the panel discussion on species protection, community involvement and ranger work. She also presented the three-year development of the Moldovan Ranger Association on its behalf, thanks to the joint efforts of Arnika and Biotica and, last but not least, the support provided to this young national ranger association by the European Ranger Federation (ERF). ERF is strengthening the association institutionally, improving the skills of its members – volunteer rangers – and promoting its representation at international level.
Young Moldovan ranger association develops in partnership with Romanian ranger association
Conference participants were also informed about the initial results of the partnership agreement between Moldovan and Romanian ranger associations, which was signed at the last World Ranger Congress in Hyères (France), as well as about the recently signed partnership agreement (sponsorship agreement) between Moldovan and Czech Ranger Association.
Promoting the European approach to conservation in Moldova with the Natura 2000 programme
This conference marked the conclusion of the two-year joint MD-CZ project ‘Natura 2000 in Moldova: Promoting the European Approach to Nature Conservation in Moldova’, which was implemented by the ecological association ‘BIOTICA’ and the Arnika Civic Centre with financial support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and with the support of the Czech Development Agency within the framework of the TRANSITION programme.
The conference was co-organised by A.O. EcoContact as part of the project ‘Improving the management of protected areas in the Republic of Moldova through institutional development, capacity building and habitat restoration’, which was financed by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) as part of Austria’s international partnerships, implemented by AO SE ‘BIOTICA’ and AO ‘EcoContact’ and supported by Sweden.