Project Update: November 2008

Main concept of the project is to contribute to the protection of valuable ecosystems and their biodiversity by involving local communities of both countries in.

A cooperation between the two local authorities, the Cosauti Primaria (Soroca district, Moldova) and the Yampil district administration (Vinnytsea region, Ukraine) has been initiated. Meetings with local people, groups and local business community were focused on local development and conservation perspectives. There is a strong potential for tourism that should adequately be used for both conservation and economic prosperity in the area.

A seminar at the Local authority Cosauti with participation of members of the local council and local farmers was organised in July 2008 in order to raise awareness and jointly plan field activities for the spring-summer 2009. Growing interest in sightseeing and visiting the landscapes (forests, river, historical and cultural monuments) may affect valuable habitats. Two authorised recreation areas instead of random activity throughout the protected areas will be arranged at the Landscape Reserve Cosauti (Moldova) in order to avoid over-loading the ecosystems.

Habitat pollution and unauthorised waste have become a burden to local environment, strongly affecting local people's life and country's touristic image. We strongly support the local group engaged in plastics waste collection at the municipal landfill near Soroca town district, where household and industrial waste is gathered from the town and neighbouring villages.

A tight cooperation with the republican NGO Ave-Natura and its 5 in-country branches (Moldova) and science community have been established. Transboundary conservation and sustainable development needs were brought up to the local and regional audience through mass-media (Radio post "Vocea Basarabiei"), round table at the Faculty of Sociology (Moldavian State University) and meetings with NGO community (Handicraftsmen's Union of Moldova, "Kind of Stone").

Contributions to the Council of Europe's periodical publication Futuropa: For a new vision of landscape and territory, devoted to "Landscape and transfrontier cooperation" and to the IUCN Europe Regional Newsletter have been made.