Moldovan environmentalists, who, together with colleagues from Romania and Ukraine, have been realizing a joint project “Cross-border interdisciplinary cooperation for the prevention of natural disasters and mitigation of environmental pollution in Lower Danube Euroregion”, are warning about the danger of pollution in the region.

 

Representative of the Zoology Institute, Doctor Habilitat Elena Zubcov said at the news conference at Infotag that within the project, which has started in 2013, several researches have been conducted about the Prut River delta, about the level of pollution of surface waters and system biodiversity, about pesticides impact upon the ecosystem.

 

“Researches show that there are big problems from the point of view of biodiversity and water pollution in Prut and that without intervention the situation may worsen. The zone is susceptible to contamination and serious investments are necessary for the development of the region and preventing pollution”, said Zubcov.

 

She noted that according to seismologists, the Lower Danube is a zone with the highest risk of floods and earthquakes.

 

“Besides, there are many warehouses with toxic substances in the region. Also here the Giurgiulesti port is located, which affects the regional ecosystem. In other words, there is a plenty of factors, contributing to pollution of the region. We should study all these factors and decide what is more important to be solved today: the problem of landfills or the zone afforestation. We can not just say that the quality of water is bad and not to see the storage with pesticides. It is necessary to identify the major problems and address them according to the impact upon environment”, said the project coordinator.

 

She reported that within the project, modern equipment has been purchased, which allows conducting a detailed analysis of water quality and soil structure.

 

“We have also organized meetings with mayors of localities from the region, where ecological problems have been discussed. We encourage them to use European projects to improve the environment. Only by means of joint efforts we can prevent an ecological disaster”, said the scientist.

 

According to her, the project implies creation of development plans for villages in the region, which will allow them implementing projects on preventing environment pollution and soil erosion, thus protecting the ecosystem.

 

Elena Zubcov stressed that within the project a network of specialists from Moldova, Romania and Ukraine will be created for studying the ecosystem.

 

Deputy Director of the Institute of Geology and Seismology Oleg Bogdevici noted that sharing experience within the cross-border projects is highly important for improving the ecosystem of the region.

 

The project will last until October 2015 within the joint operational program Romania-Ukraine-Moldova, financed by the EU. In realization of the project are participating the Romanian Institute Dunarea de Jos, the Institute of Zoology and Institute of Geology and Seismology of the Moldovan Academy of Sciences and the Ukrainian Scientific Center of the Ecology of the Sea. The project’s total cost is 1.7 million euros.