The Bucharest General Council (CGMB) adopted this week a draft resolution declaring the Vacaresti Lake, also known as Bucharest’s Vacaresti Delta, a protected natural area of national interest. City councilors adopted the draft resolution unanimously, reports local Agerpres.

The natural park status is to be established by a government decision.

Romanian climber Alex Gavan was also present at CGMB’s meeting. “I believe we live a rather historic moment, considering that we are coming close to three years in which us, those from Vacaresti Natural Park Association, have been trying to give an unexpected green lung to the capital,” he said.

Gavan added that Bucharest is one of the European capitals with the smallest green surfaces in Europe. “I believe this park can offer us extra few hundred hectares of green space,” he said.

Bucharest’s Vacaresti Delta is located in the area of the former Vacaresti Lake, in the south-eastern part of Bucharest. It covers around 200 hectares, including some 80 hectares of water. Several environmental organizations have asked the area’s recognition as a natural park.

The area, whose ownership is yet unclear, has been found to host foxes, more than 90 species of birds, including swans, ducks and seagulls, as well as snakes and fish, which is almost unheard of in a large city.

Watch below a video shot with a drone showing this unique area of Bucharest:

Lives of families who live in Bucharest’s Vacaresti Delta, captured in photo exhibition

Information campaign and cleanup starts for Vacaresti Delta in the middle of Bucharest

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: salvatidelta.ro, Photographer: Helmut Ignat)