Arguments for Integrative Management

of Protected Areas in the Cities – Case

Study in Bucharest City

Airinei Laura
Bălaș Virginia-Georgiana
Sau
Gabriela Manea, Elena Matei, Iuliana Vijulie, Laura Tîrlă, Roxana Cuculici, Octavian Cocoș, Adrian
Tișcovschi
Contents
 Introduction
 Study Area
 Research Methodology
 Results
 Discussions
 Conclusions
Introduction
 Argument
 Protected Areas in the Cities
 Started with the debate “The Delta
amongst the blocks” (National
Geographic Romania)
 Theoretical and applicative
importance for urban environment
planning
 Media conflicts between the social
groups directly affected by the
specific issue Fig. 1 – Cover National
Geographic Romania
Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ro/a/a1/National_Geographic_-_coperta_-
_Delta_dintre_blocuri.jpgc
  Conceptualization

 New concept in Romania

 On international level, the term is well
known
 Sweden, Norway, Austria, England,
Columbia, Argentina etc
 Semi-natural territories threatened by
the urbanization process
 A concept used in the context of the
present research
 New form of land administration,
Source: http://www.thenatureofcities.com/TNOC/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Image-7-IUCN-
Urban-Protected-Areas-book-cover.png ecologically protective and having
Fig. 2 – IUCN – Urban educational value.
Protected Areas
 The issue of setting up urban protected areas

Advantages Ecosystem services Ecological reconstruction

Species preserve Environmental education Job creation

Recreation for people Voluntourism Diversification of tourism

Constraints Financial interest Uncontrolled tourism

Opposition of landowners Wilde fire Extreme events and disasters

Gatewaycommunities Informal settlements Inadequate management

Study Area
 Văcărești wetland, a “sui-generis” landscape unit
 In the Cotroceni-Berceni area
 Stretching on about 180 hectares, south of the Dâmboviţa valley
 Works for reclamation and improvement (embankment) of the swampy lands
were initiated in the communist period
 It shelters about 100 bird species, reptiles and mammals
 Discovered by photographers, biologists, ecologists or geographers

Fig. 3 – Fauna in
Văcărești Wetland

Sourcehttp://www.lumea-tiparului.ro/picture%20zona%20Vacaresti4.jpg
Research Methodology
 Review of national and international literature
 Applying GIS techniques for diachronic and synchronic analysis;
 Processing the semi-structured interviews in QSR NVivo 11 software;
 Monitoring newspapers, TV channels, social networks and discussion forums.
 Opportunity to set up the main arguments for integrative management
 Results
1. Urban protected areas – A challenge for Romania
Setting up urban protected areas + sustainable ecological management
=
ecological functions of interest for the society

2. Man-environment relationships within the study area

-People abandoned their socio-economic activities

-Văcărești’s ecological reconstruction occurred naturally
4.
3. Link between biodiversity / ecosystem services / society

3 4 5
6
4 6

5.
6.
 4. The perception of the target groups

-Local authorities -Former

bodies landowners
-NGOs -Current
-Academic landowners
representatives -Comments made
-Local community in the virtual
7. 8. representatives environment
Discussions
 Conflict negociation - important aspect for the creation and management of U.P.A
 Useful tool for the amicable settlement of the issue at stake by finding compromise
solutions
 Analyzing factors contributing to conflictuality;
 Understanding conflicting land-use relationships and spatial arrangements;
 Mapping conflict potential (competing landscape services)
 Fig. 4 – Văcărești Wetland panorama Source http://www.bzc.ro/public/upload/photos/149/parc.jpg

 Setting up urban protected areas: social-economic usefulness

 The ecological reconstruction of the semi-natural habitats and the
conservation of the natural
 Positive effect on the flora and fauna biodiversity of the urban environment
 Urban parks may contribute to the global image of the city
 Bogota – Colombia, London Wetland Centre - Great Britain, Vienna –
Austria, Cape Town – South Africa, Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
Conclusions
 The status of urban protected area of Văcăreşti wetland implies a multitude of
varibles
 The geographical location; the historical evolution of the investigated territory;
and the divergence of opinions among the stakeholders.
 Romania’s capital city is growing more and more the setting up of Văcăreşti
wetland would offer a number of advantages.
 The urban regeneration of an area that currently is unhealthy and unworkable;
“pro homine’ – “pro nature”
 Integrative management of a seminatural biotope;
 However, there are also potential risks represented by the landowners’ interest
to sell the restituted properties;
 The increase of uncontrolled tourism, and especially mass tourism,
 The persistence of promiscuity
 As Ernesto Enkerlin Hoeflich (Chair IUCN World Commission on Protected
Areas) stated, “urban protected areas can help bridge the gap between the
compelling requirement of conservation and the social and economic
imperatives of our times”.
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