Besides biodiversity management in the Creasta Cocosului Reserve, the project has an impact in related productive sectors of the local economy: forestry and grazing. The participatory planning of the use of these natural resources will explore practical solutions that will be integrated in local regulations and included by the local authorities in the community development plans.
Capacity building in local groups will allow them for participatory planning of nature friendly management high-valued local forests, grasslands and wetlands. The local groups will be also involved in practical activities in the reserve, such as visitor trails and wayside exhibition arrangement, bird watching tower construction and buffer zone delimitation.
Capacity - Building Component
Long term sustainability will be assured by developing indigenous people's abilities to reduce their impact on nature by: community training on sustainable management of high value forests and grasslands, participatory planning workshops, public awareness campaign.
Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment
The Information and Education Centre established by the project is concerned in public awareness raising to contribute to a better understanding to the connecitons between the nature conservation needs and its global impacts.
Notable Community Participation
The communities were seen as part of the solution to reduce the threats to biodiversity in the Creasta Cocosului Reserve and buffer area. They have been involved in decision-making, policy development and implementation, with due consideration for the economic needs of the local people and biodiversity protection in the target areas.
Replication of project activities
The exercise offered by the active participation of the local groups in project implementation was meant to leave behind local nuclei capable to take over similar independent initiatives.
The funds attracted for complementary projects bring the financial security to support the local groups while putting to good use the abilities gained.
Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods
The integrated conservation of biodiversity laid the grounds for sustainable livelihoods in the neighbouring communities, towards a sustainable use of natural resources, and the development of locally managed environmentally sustainable nature-based tourism, successfully combining the cultural and natural history of the region. The local froups realised the importance of natural resources, traditions and local culture, education, attitude and community life, and used these as a basis for local development. The project facilitated the creation of 50 "green initiatives" that contribute both to community development, and to the welfare of the concerned families. Eco-tourism will create additional jobs. Another aspect to enhance livelihoods in the area is sustainable harvesting and use of natural products, such as non-timber forest products. The integrated conservation approach will provide long-term economic sustainability to the local communities while protecting the natural wildlife and species.
Policy Influence
The project coordinator was invited to join the expert groups working on the strategic planning documents of the Maramures County: the Planning Commitee working on the Sustainable Development Strategy of Maramures and reviewing the Development Plan and the Coordination Commitee of the Local Action Plan development. This way the environmental and development needs identified at grassroots level in the project implementation site was taken in consideration and proposals to overcome these needs were introduced into the planning documents at county level.
Planning gef grant
The project could be easily expanded to the Gutai Mountains region, with a similar valuable biodiversity and landscape, to be managed by the rural communities of the Mara valley, which also carry the local identity of historical Maramures.
Project sustainability
The project followed an integrated approach to capitalise on the natural and cultural heritage that provide Maramures its identity. Its sustainability is guaranteed by the continued support provided to the local initiatives generated, as follows:
The Environmental Partnership Foundation will fund an eco-tourism programme targeting the nature reserve and the neighbouring rural communities of a particular authenticity, as well as a "greeway" roundtour in the region.
Follow-up on natural resource management will be provide through the project ?High nature value farming ? sustainable livelihoods in Maramures? funded by DEFRA Environmental Assistance Fund. This project will demonstrate the contribution of the traditional agricultural practices to nature conservation, aiming to influence the national policies to support sustainable agriculture.
Planning non gef grant
The project scaling up process started from the second half of the implementation yearalready. Non-GEF grants summing up Euro 30,608 were attracted for follow-up projects, namely:
- Greenway: Euro 4,000;
- Ecotourism in the Creasta Cocosului Reserve (a partnership for development): Euro 5,208;
- High nature value farming ? sustainable livelihoods in Maramures: Euro 21,400.
Gender Focus
Women are involved in all the aspects of the project. They are particularly targetted by the agri-tourism development component, which is meant to enhance the local capacities to develop alternative income generation activities. Women are best prepared to capitalise on and promote the rich local traditions of the Maramures cuisine by offering natural, home-cooked meals. Women were mostly targeted by the training for board administrators and tourist guides. The participatory planning meetings were attended by women in a higher proportion than men, demonstrating their
Project Results
The project followed an integrated approach to capitalise on the natural and cultural heritage that provide Maramures its identity.
The capacities for natural management of forest and grassland were developed in local groups (57 land owners trained). Local communities implement and observe the standards for conservation management. The local population has an increased awareness on sustainable management of natural resources through the 1500 leaflets and 800 brochures printed and disseminated in the 3 communities neighbouring the Creasta Cocosului Reserve: Desesti, Cavnic and Baia Sprie, including villages. The activities to capitalise biodiversity resources are sized in a sustainable manner, the techniques to manage the natural resources are adapted to the requirements for conservation management.
An inventory of biodiversity was undertaken for the targeted area, and measures to protect the threatened species were adopted according to local needs (the buffer area of the reservation was expanded, the communities accepted the conservation recommendations). 672.12 ha of the ecological region is protected or sustainably managed as an area of global biodiversity interest, protecting birds as follows: 1 SPEC 1 species, 6 SPEC 2 species, 16 SPEC 3 species, 24 SPEC 4 species. 42.35% of the species in the protected territory are included on the SPEC conservation list. Specific flora and fauna species are being protected from tourists' action by building a visiting bridge at the Chendroaia Lake which was also declared a special conservation area. The soil vegetation of the forest is being protected from tourists' action by arranging the visitors' trail.
The local stakeholders (a total of 54 leaders involved in the 3 rural communities) have developed and experimented their participatory planning capacities, resulting in 2 local regulations being issued for the sustainable use of natural resources. These provide the establishment of natural protected area of local interest in Hoteni Lakes and establishment of a protected area for the corridor connecting Creasta Cocosului to the Moreni Lake Reservce. Also, the status of special conservation area was granted to the Chendroaia Lakes (where also a visitation bridge was built for protection against tourists' action), generating in this way the first network of protected areas in Maramures.
Knowledge on sustainable harvesting was acquired by more than 500 local harvesters who were trained on non-destructive harvesting, so that their activity does not endanger the regeneration of harvested species (mushrooms, medical herbs, forest fruit). There is also an increased community awareness on the regulations for managing ecological regions and the natural resources concerned, as well as the level of acceptance/validation of the regulations. The communities neighbouring the reservation (30 volunteers) get involved in conservation practical activities (delimiting the buffer area, arranging the visiting bridge, the bird tower and the belvedere point. Responsible attitudes and a developed respect for nature was cultivated in 122 youngsters coming from poor families in the rural area, who participate in organised visits to the reserve.
The project also resulted in an increased capacity of the local population on tourist boards management and services (28 locals certified), as well as local guide services (22 locals trained), which generated, in a direct and indirect manner, 50 jobs: 28 in agri-tourism and 22 in eco-tourism activities.
The media disseminates the best conservation practices (8 articles, 4 short documentaries in the local TV, 2 features in the news, 2 live talk shows in local TV stations). The experience of the project was disseminated through 500 promotional leaflets and the project web page.
