General mayor Nicuşor Dan and mountaineer and environmentalist Alex Găvan signed on Thursday, October 12, a memorandum of understanding on solutions to combat the worrying pollution in Bucharest and create a much-needed Green Belt around the capital city. In addition, they also call for further support from other political and executive decision-makers for this project, such as the prime minister and the Parliament speakers.

Alex Găvan founded the Together for the Green Belt/Împreună pentru Centura Verde civic platform - a call for action focused on solutions to make the Romanian capital a healthier city. The signing of the memorandum marks the project’s entry into a new phase. A draft law with the same goal is currently being debated in the Parliament, while citizens can join the effort by backing an online petition.

The memorandum includes seven points of action, and Bucharest City Hall can act on four of them. 

They target the setting up of a working group on the Green Belt topic by the end of the year and the creation of a calendar of concrete actions by June 30, 2024; an integrated plan of the Bucharest City Hall and the Ilfov County Council on combating pollution and creating the Green Belt by June 30, 2024; the inclusion of the Green Belt in Bucharest’s Action Plan for a Green City by December 31, 2023; and the inclusion of the Green Belt project in the Bucharest-Ilfov Regional Development Plan 2021-2027 until December 31, 2023.

The remaining points of action can be met with support from other high-ranking decision-makers. That is why, in an official press release, Nicuşor Dan and Alex Găvan also invite prime minister Marcel Ciolacu, Senate president Nicolae Ciucă, acting Chamber of Deputies speaker Alfred Simonis, USR president Cătălin Drulă, UDMR leader Kelemen Hunor, REPER co-president Dragoș Pîslaru, environment minister Mircea Fechet, and Ilfov County Council president Hubert Thuma to join the initiative and sign the memorandum as well.

“I am happy to contribute and make known such an important project for Bucharest: the Green Belt. […] The City Hall has supported and will always support projects and initiatives that protect the environment in the capital because Bucharest must become a green city. We need as many green spaces as possible, our children need parks and playgrounds in nature, we need to breathe clean air,” mayor Dan said.

“We must understand that every tree matters, every initiative, even if it belongs to a state institution or civil society, must be supported because only together can we have visible results that can matter for the future. In this sense, I encourage all other political and decision-making actors to sign this memorandum,” he added.

In his turn, Alex Găvan said: “Step by step, those who chose to be #TogetherForTheGreenBelt are concretely manifesting a historic project, one of the most important of the last 30 years. It will have systemic effects on reducing pollution and on the cities’ quality of life, mitigating climate change and protecting biodiversity, biodiversity without which humans could not exist. For the highest good and the health of the inhabitants of the capital of Romania and those of the other cities of the country, I make this call for unity and action to all the recipients of the memorandum and bow with gratitude to all.”

The memorandum was also signed in the context of the 2023 Climate Change Summit, a large-scale event happening in Bucharest on October 19-20, with the Together for the Green Belt civic platform among its partners.

Together for the Green Belt is a project of the Alex Găvan Foundation but has been joined by dozens of non-profits, civic groups and public figures. One of its main pillars is the draft law amending the Forest Code so as to safeguard the forests in Ilfov county, which is currently being debated in Parliament. The bill is estimated to be voted on in the Chamber of Deputies in the first half of November after being unanimously voted by the Senate in June. It already received a favorable opinion from all members of the legal committee of the Chamber of Deputies last week.

Further details about the Together for the Green Belt initiative can be found here (in Romanian). 

Bucharest is in the top 3 of the most polluted capitals in the European Union. And air pollution not only means health issues for its inhabitants but also translates into an annual cost of EUR 6.35 billion.  

Plus, the Romanian capital is last in the EU when it comes to green space per capita. With approximately 7-9 square meters, the city is far from the 26 square meters it should have, according to the law. At the same time, the forests around Bucharest are systematically decimated, the project initiators say.

A 2020 report by the National Institute of Public Health found that if the authorities were to meet their already assumed targets to combat pollution, the life expectancy of Bucharest residents would increase by four years.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Alex Găvan Foundation)