important plant areas in central and eastern europe - hirc.botanic.hr ...

Section 5RecommendationsAs key sites for threatened plants andhabitats the following actions arerecommended to ensure the sustainableprotection of IPAs and their features:■ Ensuring the identity of IPAs as themost significant network for conservationof threatened plant taxa and habitats inEurope.■ Developing a strategic action plan forthe IPA network and identifying thepeople and organisations to watch overthem and to promote them at thenational and international level.■ Obtaining protection status for nonprotectedIPAs.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 selectedfor criterion A species, 21 IPAs for criterion B and 38 for criterion C.The highestnumber of Criterion A taxa recorded in one IPA was 40 and the highest number ofCriterion C habitat types recorded in one IPA was 11.Key threats to IPAs in RomaniaNo. ofIPAs■ Identifying new IPAs (IPA identificationneed to be understood as a dynamic andongoing process).■ Developing a national IPA monitoringsystem.■ Developing management plans for IPAsas a part of the national strategy forbiodiversity conservation.■ Organising a programme on “capacitybuilding for IPA sustainability”■ Raising awareness among politicians,local communities and the general publicabout the importance of IPAs and toinvolve them in the IPAprotection andconservation.■ Developing funding proposals forACTIONS to conserve IPAs!Recreation and tourism development is the most widespread threat to IPAs inRomania (104 IPAs). Intensification or expansion of grazing is also a significant threat,occurring at 80 IPAs and general agricultural intensification affects 24 IPAs. Poorforestry practices affect 100 IPAs (deforestation 63 IPAs, afforestation 38 IPAs, IFMintensified forest management 37 IPAs). Habitat fragmentation affects 24 IPAs, often toa high level. Natural events such as drought, disease etc are recorded as threats at 43IPAs and climate change and sea level rise as a low level threat at 40 IPAs. Urbandevelopment, construction of dams, dykes and barriers, and inappropriate watermanagement systems also threatens several IPAs.Significant globally and European-level threatened habitats, such as coastal dunegrasslands, broadleaved deciduous and coniferous woodland, and alluvial forest, are stillwell represented in Romania. However they are increasingly affected by tourism,agriculture and deforestation and they require special management measures as soonas possible. Unfortunately the connection between scientific information and politicalwill is still weak and in many cases even existing protected areas have no realmanagement. Human capacity and the necessary infrastructure need to be developedto make the protection and conservation system work.54