This is a list of protected areas of

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. About 5.18% of the area of Romania has a protected status (12,360 km²), including the

Danube Delta The Danube Delta (, ; , ) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. Occurring where the Danube, Danube River empties into the Black Sea, most of the Danube Delta lies in Romania ...

, which makes half of these areas (2.43% of Romania's area).

National parks

There are 14 national parks totaling 3,223 km²:

Proposed hunting

The

Romanian parliament The Parliament of Romania () is the national bicameral legislature of Romania, consisting of the Chamber of Deputies () and the Senate (). It meets at the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, the capital. Prior to the modification of the Cons ...

discussed in September 2008 a bill aiming to open 13 national parks to sustainable

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

, in order to manage the wildlife

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

in these areas and promote greater tourism and the accompanying revenue necessary to support and maintain the parks. However, after several protests from environmental organizations, the law was rejected by President

Traian Băsescu Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a Romanian politician who served as the president of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian minister of transport on multiple occasions between 1991 and 2000, ...

. Nowadays, hunting is prohibited in national parks of Romania.

Natural parks

There are 17 natural parks totaling 5,492.33 km²:

Natural reserves

Natural reserves are natural areas protected by law in order to protect and conserve important habitats and natural species. The dimensions of natural reserves vary and depend on the area needed by protected natural elements. Besides scientific activities, the administrations of natural reserves encourage traditional activities and

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

that do not affect the natural landscape. Here is not permitted to use

natural resource Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...

s. There are 617 natural reservations totaling 2,043.55 km².

Scientific reserves

Scientific reserves are also protected areas that, like the previous ones, aim at protection and preservation of natural habitats. The difference is that scientific reserves can not be visited by tourists. These areas typically contain rare plant and animal species or particular natural elements, reason why here are prohibited any human activities, excepting research and education activities. Entry without permission in scientific reserves is punishable by considerable fines. There are 55 such reservations totaling 1,112.77 km².

Natural monuments

There are 234 natural monuments totaling 77.05 km².

References

External links

World Resources Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Protected Areas Of Romania

National parks A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

Protected areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...