In Moldova, we need to start thinking about real nature conservation through Natura 2000. We are helping with the difficult implementation of this European system of environmental protection there through awareness raising or a mobile app.
In December 2023, the European Council granted candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova and opened accession talks with them on 25 June 2024. This decision followed two years of negotiations. The accession process is expected to take several years. Czech Television correspondent Petr Obrovský described that the European Commission will now "...look for white spaces and determine what else these two candidate countries need to add to their laws in order to become full members of the European Union. Once this is clear, probably sometime next year, the first accession chapters will be opened on a thematic basis."
Chapter 27 on environment and climate change will be part of the accession talks. It covers more than 200 pieces of EU legislation and requires candidate countries to demonstrate, among other things, the establishment of the Natura 2000 network of protected areas. Moldova is currently investing in a similar system, Emerald, which does not meet the requirements of Natura 2000. It must therefore decide whether to focus its efforts on establishing a European nature conservation system that will enable it to meet the conditions for EU accession.
The Czech Republic has already done this, with the first co-called Special Protection Areas (SPAs) within the network being declared in 2004-05. Today, 14 per cent of its territory falls under at least one of the Natura 2000 protection statuses: 41 SPAs, where certain bird species live or gather during winter or migration, and more than 1,100 Sites of Community Importance, which protect specific habitats, animals or plants. But it was not enough to pick sites at random: the introduction of the system was accompanied by a thorough mapping of habitats across the country – which should be in general an integral part of a responsible approach towards the Natura 2000 network.
Only the areas established within Natura 2000 specifically for the protection of birds cover almost 9% of the territory of the Czech Republic. They are established by government decree. Graphics by nasiptaci.info
Arnika, together with local NGO Biotica, is helping Moldova on this journey through a joint project "Natura 2000 Moldova: Promoting an European Approach to Nature Conservation in Moldova" supported by the Transition Promotion Programme of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and the project "Czech Support for Better Management of Protected Areas in Moldova" implemented under the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Challenge Fund. On the one hand, we are raising awareness of what exactly Natura 2000 means - for example, through a seminar and press conference in Chisinau in May 2024 - and, on the other, we are trying to facilitate the implementation of the system through practical steps.
One of these is the creation of a mobile application that will allow Moldovan experts to collect data on the presence of selected protected plant and animal species. This data, in a format compatible with Natura 2000, will be stored in an online database accessible to both current and future experts working on the issue. The first pilot mapping of the selected protected species is planned for autumn 2024 and will be carried out by the first three Moldovan botanists trained in the application, who will set the standards for all future mapping in Moldova.
Czech Natura 2000 expert Petr Roth discusses a mapping application with Moldovan botanists. Photo Biotica/Arnika.
