National Geographic article explores plans to create a national park in Romania’s Făgăraș Mountains
Romania’s Făgăraș Mountains, one of Europe's last wild regions, were recently the focus of an article in National Geographic, written by renowned British journalist Isabella Tree, known for her work on nature conservation.
The article discusses the potential of creating a national park in the Făgăraș Mountains as a sustainable solution for both environmental conservation and economic revitalization in the region. The Făgăraș Mountains are regarded as one of the most important wilderness ecosystems in Europe, home to rare species such as brown bears, wolves, and numerous protected plants.
Accompanied by stunning photos from Dutch photojournalist Jasper Doest, the piece highlights the mountains' unique beauty and the challenges faced by local communities amid rapid socio-economic changes.
Supported by the Conservation Carpathia Foundation, the proposed Făgăraș National Park has the potential to transform the area into a European hub for ecotourism, providing sustainable livelihoods through eco-friendly tourism, nature conservation efforts, and local traditions. Establishing such a national park could protect the region's biodiversity while offering new economic opportunities to local communities struggling with economic decline, the article says.
However, problems still remain. “Conservation Carpathia has amassed 68,000 acres of land and plans to secure a further 17,000 acres of private land over the next few years. But until the organization can convince the surrounding villages of the value of committing their forests to a park, logging surges in virtually every remote valley. Data collected between July 2019 and July 2024 identified 247,000 trees felled from forests aged 130 years or more in the Făgăraş,” the National Geographic article says.
Tree points out the significance of the Făgăraș Mountains not only for Romania but for all of Europe, advocating for the establishment of a large-scale national park that could rival the world's most famous parks. The article suggests that, by protecting this natural landscape and promoting sustainable tourism activities, the Făgăraș region could become a model for balancing environmental conservation with economic development.
Nicknamed "the Yellowstone of Europe," the Făgăraș Mountains span an unpopulated wilderness rich in biodiversity, sheltering over 1,500 species of plants and animals. As such, it is considered one of Europe's last refuges for wildlife and a vital area for conservation, according to Carpathia.org.
(Photo source: Carpathia.org)
