Just one of the many infringements of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) in Central and Eastern Europe is the Răstolita Hydropower Project in Romania The dam is located in both the Călimani-Gurghiu (ROSCI0019) and Defileul Mureșului Superior (ROSPA0030) Natura 2000 sites the project will adversely affect the ecological status of at least 10 bodies of water 8 of which will be seriously damaged and thus violate the non-deterioration principle established by the WFD Despite repeated requests from WWF and other environment organisations and requirements under EU legislation (WFD or Birds and Habitats Directives) for EIAs to include impact assessments on water bodies Completion of Răstolita will entail the capture and derivation of several water bodies Gălăoaia Mare and Vişa – leaving some of them high and dry the Rostoliţa River will be completely destroyed its course will be dammed to form a reservoir lake; while downstream it will be entirely dry The accumulated water will be channelled from the mountain through a 8.5 km pipeline to the hydropower plant from where it will be released into the Mureş River The project, authorised in 1990, provides minimum flow rates only for human use, not for ecosystems. Moreover, the concerned water bodies and the affected forest areas endanger habitats for a number of species of European importance such as the Danube salmon in breach of the Habitats and Birds Directives “The WFD must be better enforced to ensure protection of water bodies not weakened beyond salvation,” says Diana Cosmoiu Por un futuro en el que los humanos vivan en armonía con la naturaleza WWF® and ©1986 Panda Symbol are owned by WWF You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience Romanian Ibanesti cheese (Telemea de Ibanesti) has been included on the European registry of products with protected designation of origin (PDO) according to a press release from the European Commission It is the first Romanian product to be included on the list and the Topoloveni plum jam (Magiun de prune Topoloveni) being on the protected geographical indication (PGI) list The Ibanesti cheese is a dairy specialty made with milk from cows raised the Gurghiu valley area, salted with brine obtained from salt water fountains in the Orsova locality. The cheese can only be produced in the Gurghiu, Hodac and Ibanesti localities in the Mures county, which are part of the Gurghiu valley, where the production method has been passed down through generations. The PDO EU scheme covers agricultural products and foodstuffs which are produced processed and prepared in a given geographical area using recognized know-how the PGI scheme covers agricultural products and foodstuffs closely linked to the geographical area and at least one of the stages of production processing or preparation takes place in the area We use cookies for keeping our website reliable and secure providing social media features and to analyse how our website is used.