important plant areas in central and eastern europe - Plantlife

Section 5
Recommendations
As key sites for threatened plants and
habitats the following actions are
recommended to ensure the sustainable
protection of IPAs and their features:
■ Ensuring the identity of IPAs as the
most significant network for conservation
of threatened plant taxa and habitats in
Europe.
■ Developing a strategic action plan for
the IPA network and identifying the
people and organisations to watch over
them and to promote them at the
national and international level.
■ Obtaining protection status for nonprotected
IPAs.
Of the 276 IPAs in Romania, 20 IPAs (7%), qualify under all three criteria, 179 IPAs (65%)
qualify under two criteria and 79 IPAs (28%) qualify under one criterion (A or B or C).
Seventy-nine IPAs were selected for only one criterion, of these 20 IPAs were selected
for criterion A species, 21 IPAs for criterion B and 38 for criterion C.The highest
number of Criterion A taxa recorded in one IPA was 40 and the highest number of
Criterion C habitat types recorded in one IPA was 11.
Key threats to IPAs in Romania
No. of
IPAs
■ Identifying new IPAs (IPA identification
need to be understood as a dynamic and
ongoing process).
■ Developing a national IPA monitoring
system.
■ Developing management plans for IPAs
as a part of the national strategy for
biodiversity conservation.
■ Organising a programme on “capacity
building for IPA sustainability”
■ Raising awareness among politicians,
local communities and the general public
about the importance of IPAs and to
involve them in the IPAprotection and
conservation.
■ Developing funding proposals for
ACTIONS to conserve IPAs!
Recreation and tourism development is the most widespread threat to IPAs in
Romania (104 IPAs). Intensification or expansion of grazing is also a significant threat,
occurring at 80 IPAs and general agricultural intensification affects 24 IPAs. Poor
forestry practices affect 100 IPAs (deforestation 63 IPAs, afforestation 38 IPAs, IFM
intensified forest management 37 IPAs). Habitat fragmentation affects 24 IPAs, often to
a high level. Natural events such as drought, disease etc are recorded as threats at 43
IPAs and climate change and sea level rise as a low level threat at 40 IPAs. Urban
development, construction of dams, dykes and barriers, and inappropriate water
management systems also threatens several IPAs.
Significant globally and European-level threatened habitats, such as coastal dune
grasslands, broadleaved deciduous and coniferous woodland, and alluvial forest, are still
well represented in Romania. However they are increasingly affected by tourism,
agriculture and deforestation and they require special management measures as soon
as possible. Unfortunately the connection between scientific information and political
will is still weak and in many cases even existing protected areas have no real
management. Human capacity and the necessary infrastructure need to be developed
to make the protection and conservation system work.
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