First biosphere reserve in Moldova to be created in Lower Prut meadow

Chisinau, 26 January /MOLDPRES/ - The Lower Prut biosphere reserve will be created in the southern Cahul district. The action is meant “to conserve the land and water geographic areas with elements of physical and geographic formations of national and international importance, which comprise species of native plants and animals, specific to this territory,” according to a draft due to be published in the 27 January issue of Moldova’s Official Journal. 

The reserve will have an area of 14,771 hectares and will include nine settlements from the Cahul district, as well as 824 hectares of forest lands. The biosphere reserve Lower Prut will be subordinated to the central authority for environment through the Moldsilva Agency and will be financed from the state budget, special funds, ecologic funds, as well as from donations, including foreign ones.     

The reserve’s creation is provided for in the trilateral cross-border project Romania – Ukraine – Moldova. The preventive acceptance by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on the reserve’s foundation was backed at the fourth meeting of the World Congress of Biosphere Reserves, held in Lima, Peru, in 2015.     

The foundation of the first biosphere reserve in the Lower Danube meadow is supported by the European Union through the European Neighbourghood and Partnership Instrument and will allow the country improve the image internationally, the Environment Ministry said.  

(Reporter A. Plitoc, editor M. Jantovan)