Working to sustain the natural world for the benefit of people and nature WWF® and ©1986 Panda Symbol are owned by WWF You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience Considering the inevitable effects of climate change restoring nature and ecosystems is more than crucial if we want to create better living conditions for the current generations and a safe environment for the ones to come together with sustainability initiatives coming from the private sector will play a significant role in this journey   which passed through the European Parliament in mid-July paves the way for even greater biodiversity and climate action As Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius said at the European Parliament’s Plenary in Strasbourg this law is “not about restoring nature for the sake of nature It is about ensuring a habitable environment where the well-being of current and future generations is ensured and where the land and seas continue having the capacity to provide us with the goods and services that our lives and economies fully depend on.” the WWF announced that over 400 hectares of floodplain between the Garla Mare and Vrata localities in Romania’s Mehedinti county had been returned to nature following ecological reconstruction works which involved the reconnection of the ponds on the Danube bank with the river carried out by WWF Romania and funded by The Coca-Cola Foundation under the Living Danube Partnership contributes to restoring the area’s biodiversity and creates opportunities for economic development as it makes the area attractive for fishing and ecotourism the newest reconstructed wetland in Romania at Garla Mare-Vrata belongs to the Danube Natura 2000 sites Garla Mare-Maglavit and Gruia-Garla Mare designated based on EU and Romanian legislation to protect a number of species of flora and fauna The “Delta” at the other end of the river’s flow into the Black Sea is a place of feeding In addition to the benefits it has brought to the environment and the community the renaturation has the potential to reduce the risk of flooding for localities downstream of Garla Mare The ecological reconstruction works in Garla Mare-Vrata are part of the Living Danube Partnership an extensive programme that’s being implemented across six countries: Romania cross-sectoral partnership between WWF-CEE and the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) Its goal was to contribute to one third of the objectives of Danube countries to restore 151.3 km2 of floodplain and wetland areas by 2021 From a range of backgrounds and perspectives partners from water management to nature and forest management have come together and worked to restore rivers and wetlands for the benefit of people and nature With USD 4.4 million in support from The Coca-Cola Foundation and an eight-year history the Living Danube Partnership has so far meant the restoration of wetlands and floodplains along the Danube and its tributaries on an area of 5,462 ha—the equivalent of over 7,422 football fields The ecological reconstruction works have thus increased the storage capacity of the Danube meadow by over 13 million cubic meters—a quantity that would fill over 4,800 olympic pools “The Living Danube Partnership is living proof of the fact that working together is vital if we are to safeguard the supply of water in the EU stop and reverse the decline in biodiversity and tackle climate change,” says Sofia Kilifi Sustainability & Community manager for Europe at The Coca-Cola Company The experience from Garla Mare and other projects carried out through the Living Danube Partnership in the Danube basin has served as inspiration for larger projects developed in Romania coordinated by the National Waters Administration has identified the potential for reconstruction along the Danube river from Germany to Romania Romania set the feasibility study for the Bistret area through Romania’s Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) EUR 150 million have been allocated until 2026 to projects which are designed to remove obstacles from waters in order to protect biodiversity—a direct outcome of the two projects mentioned above We use cookies for keeping our website reliable and secure providing social media features and to analyse how our website is used Por un futuro en el que los humanos vivan en armonía con la naturaleza Business Review sat down with Orieta Hulea the Danube River and its wetlands have been much abused and dredging have modified large parts of the river system More than 80% of wetlands have been lost and with them the ecosystem benefits they provide The effects have been wide‑ranging and include plummeting fish and wildlife populations which are no longer able to provide much-needed biodiversity hotspots or to act as buffers to floodwaters that are becoming all the more valuable in the face of climate change Rivers and wetlands contribute in no small way to our quality of life – indeed Few people realize the range of products and services that freshwater habitats like wetlands provide: not only food These complex habitats act as giant sponges soaking up rainfall and slowly releasing it over time They also function as giant sewage treatment plants breaking down suspended solids and neutralizing harmful bacteria wetlands are the most biologically diverse ecosystems In terms of communications and engagement, we have promoted awareness and education for example on rivers and wetlands to children and young families through a Living Danube tour and special events; to business through special business events; and to experts and policymakers through conferences and relevant meetings and working groups of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River. The challenges that the global environment is facing today are too big and too urgent for any one organization to solve alone WWF seeks to work with those who have the greatest potential to reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth and together find solutions to conservation challenges such as deforestation The corporate sector drives much of the global economy so we consider that companies also have a specific responsibility to ensure that the natural resources and ecosystems that underpin their business are used sustainably Companies are also primed to lead on rapid adaptation and on the innovative solutions needed to drive change WWF aims to change behavior and drive conservation results that would not be possible otherwise we were looking for a credible and professional partner that could help support projects dedicated to nature conservation in Romania We signed a three-year contract under which JYSK will be funding an important project in the Danube Delta to ensure the sustainability of ecological reconstruction works done in Mahmudia accompanied by specialists from WWF-Romania we discovered the benefits that ecological reconstruction brings to the local community and to nature Local authorities are also supporting this project Everyone involved agrees how important it is to retransform the lands that were once part of the Delta and return them to their natural state Both our colleagues and customers have a positive view on this project We visited Mahmudia with 10 colleagues and all of them were amazed by how beautiful the area is and how many different birds they saw They were also pleased with the fact that the project specialists from WWF-Romania were very professional they explained to us in detail why ecological reconstruction is important and how it impacts the environment they consider the Danube Delta their home and they said the project from Mahmudia helps develop a more sustainable tourism the NGO’s volunteers are collecting donations from our stores in Bucharest The feedback from our store staff and from WWF-Romania fundraisers was very good and some of our colleagues donated to support the project They are happy when JYSK is getting involved in a CSR project either by volunteering or by donating or redirecting 3,5% of their income tax that they saw our CSR activity and it is one of the reasons why they decided to apply for a job at JYSK We try to get our colleagues involved whenever possible to assemble furniture for a new small group family home or other activities One of the ways to get them motivated is to show them positive examples stories of other colleagues who volunteer for different causes Everyone who wants to contribute and help protect nature will find a trustworthy partner in WWF-Romania My advice is to think about what Sustainable Development Goals are important to their company and invest in a project that will help reach that goal and the ecological reconstruction conducted by WWF-Romania helps reach three of them: Clean Water and Sanitation providing social media features and to analyse how our website is used.