L O C A L B E A T
Initiated in 1997, the USD 6.6 million project, jointly-funded by the World Bank and Global Environmental Facility, is based on the Romanian National Biodiversity Strategy adopted in 1996, also produced with World Bank support. The Strategy is aa accurate list of threatened species, says Angheluta Vadineanu, Dean of the UNESCO-Cousteau Chair of Ecotechnics at the University of Bucharest, but fails to adequately understand biodiversity.
"This is unfortunately true," confirms Virgil Diaconu, an expert in biology at MWFEP. "Between 1992 and 1996, the Ministry avoided cooperation with the Romanian Academy or with universities, assuming that the Bucharest Research and Environmental Engineering Institute was the highest national scientific authority." Therefore, the main input for the Strategy came from engineers rather than biologists or other biodiversity experts. Locked into thinking that environment means only water, air, soil and forests, the Strategy is out-dated, "reflecting the level of knowledge we had twenty years ago," says Vadineanu.
Another concern is the differences of opinion within the team coordinating the project, especially in the bid for an organisation to implement the project. Geomatics International Inc., a Canadian company, won the bid, but was "without relevant experience in biodiversity projects," said Diaconu. "Geomatics was my second choice, but it was overthrown by the other members of the team." Mirek Sharp, manager of the Canadian team, countered that his team includes "12 local consultants from Romania representing a range of interests" such as governmental representatives in forestry and environment, "who are concerned about conserving biodiversity, (but) they perceive it should be accomplished differently."
The mixed signals coming from the different governmental departments have complicated the work of the Romanian consultants, resulting in project delays, said Doina Rachita, project officer at the World Bank Resident Mission in Bucharest. Launched early last year, the project should have reached its implementation phase by 1998. Instead, the preparation phase of the project is still under development. "We expected it to be a difficult process," she said, "because such a project, intended to design a decentralised management system with the participation of local communities, is a first for Romania."
Government departments, NGOs, local administrations and local stakeholders have all been part of the process, Sharp said, adding that "involving so many groups is one reason the project is behind schedule."
Diaconu, however, says that the problems lie elsewhere - related to more fundamental issues at stake in Romania. Competitive approaches and "conflicting group interests" are still extremely active in the country, Diaconu believes, including conflicting laws which even contradict the Constitution or international conventions. One of the most notorious, "a shame for the country" according to Diaconu, is the Law regarding the protection of wild game and hunting which is in fact protecting the interests of hunters and foresters, not biodiversity. For example, endangered brown bears continue to be hunted under the guise of their being dangerous. Another example is that while the governmental environment department is interested in protecting the environment, the forestry department may be more concerned with selling wood and hunting permits.
If things don't improve, says Vadineanu, Romania could end up with a "significantly reduced" budget for the project.
- Alexandru R. Savulescu