The “largest urban forest in Romania” will be planted in Tulcea under a EUR 5.83 million project financed through the EU-backed National Recovery and Resilience Facility (PNRR), the Ministry of Environment announced. Minister Mircea Fechet and mayor Ștefan Ilie signed the financing contract on Tuesday, September 10.

Through this project, the authorities aim to transform 61.2 hectares of land in 7 peri-urban areas of Tulcea into forests by planting approximately 2.5 million saplings.

“I am glad that more and more land, including some now degraded, is being converted into urban forests, which can absorb larger amounts of carbon dioxide and can have a significant contribution in terms of air quality and lowering the temperature by about 10 degrees compared to cities and towns,” environment minister Fechet said.

According to him, this new forest will be like a green belt of the city, right next to the inhabited space, as the lands are located at a maximum of 500m from the limit of the urban area.

The Environment Ministry has EUR 30 million available through the National Recovery and Resilience Facility for planting urban forests. The deadline for submitting projects is December 31, 2024.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Facebook/Ministerul Mediului)