Foreign partners back planting of degraded land in Stefan Voda district

Chisinau, 23 April /MOLDPRES/- “Planting good deeds in Copceac” was the title of a campaign, held late last week in Copceac village, Stefan Voda district. Attending the event were over 400 volunteers who planted trees on degraded land of 14 hectares.

The event was organized by the UNDP Moldova project, “Biodiversity Conservation”, Consolidated Unit for the implementation of IFAD programs, project “Planting good deeds”, Copceac mayoralty, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment, volunteers from the community and country, representatives of several environmentally friendly commercial companies.

“At present, unfortunately, the forests in our country occupy just over 11 per cent of the area, while in the European states they cover almost 45 per cent of the territory. We advocate for strengthening the potential of existing natural forests, stopping their degradation, preserving, regenerating and rebuilding forest ecosystems, by improving the legislation and efficient management of forestry resources,” Minister of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment Liviu Volconovici said.

According to Inga Podoroghin, UNDP Program Specialist, the planting was a symbolic action meant to consolidate the civil spirit and help solve local environmental problems. “Thus, we save 14 hectares of land from desertification process, expand the forest area and strengthen local ecosystem, being involved in global efforts to mitigate climate change,” she said.

For his part, Copceac mayor Vasile Tantari said that the projects of the locality are a rescue for the villagers. “We have already restored over 60 ha of land, the soils have begun to come back to life. We have accessed funds for another 10 hectares of land. I am glad that the people from the locality also participated, and thus they will become more informed, more careful and sensitive to our patrimony,” he said.

Copceac village, Stefan Voda district, is part of the pilot localities where UNDP Moldova project “Biodiversity Conservation” is being carried out. The project runs from 2015 to 2019 and us funded by the Global Environment Facility. So far, 25 ha of pasture and 36 hectares of forest protection strips have been planted in Copceac village.

(Reporter L. Grubîi, editor A. Răileanu)