Tourism organizations ask the Government for measures for a clean Garden of the Carpathians!
Six national and ten other regional associations in the field of tourism are requesting the Romanian Government, through an Open Letter, concrete measures to restore Romania to a clean state.
The initiative comes as a result of the Carpathian Garden conference: from country branding to the need for destination sustainability, organized on Thursday, June 22, 2023, in Bucharest, by the Romanian Ecotourism Association (AER) and the Romanian Hotel Industry Federation (FIHR), in the presence of over 100 participants.
Romanian tourism is building a brand: the Garden of the Carpathians. But the places visited by our tourists, Romanian or foreign, are becoming increasingly polluted with waste. What calling card does a country have where, looking out the window of the connecting train between Otopeni International Airport and Bucharest, the capital of Romania, we see fields full of waste? At the edge of any public parking lot, on the side of a national road in Romania, we see piles of discarded waste. Any river in the country, after flowing through a few localities, becomes full of waste. At the edge of localities in Romania, from Bucharest to mountain villages, we find places where garbage is thrown away uncontrollably.
The initiative of tourism organizations is doubled by the support of the 3,000 signatories of the #faragunoaie petition, who ask the Romanian Government to respect the right to a healthy environment by respecting Article 35 of the Romanian Constitution.
"Romanian tourism can only perform if we support the image of a clean country through concrete actions! The Garden of the Carpathians cannot continue to be marred by garbage!", declares Călin Ile, honorary president of FIHR, one of the initiators of the open letter.
Also, Dragoș Anastasiu, president of Eurolines Group, a supporter of the initiative, declares that "Romania is condemned to find solutions to the garbage problem because we have the Carpathian Garden as a country brand and ecotourism as an element of uniqueness."
"The country's ecotourism image is deeply affected by waste dumped in nature, which undermines our 20-year efforts to develop and promote ecotourism under the brand."
"Discover Eco-Romania", says Andrei Blumer, president of AER, the main initiator of the initiative at the national level.
Due to the need to identify viable solutions to the problems reported, the national organizations signing the open letter have made a commitment to support a national approach to identify and promote sustainability measures in tourism, as well as the approval of sustainability assessment schemes, with a deadline of the end of 2024.
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All these actions are part of the project For Eco and Tourism – a civic initiative to clean up nature in Romania (PET Romania), carried out by the Ecotourism Association of Romania in partnership with the Măgura Ecotourism Association, the Țara Dornelor Ecotourism Association, the Retezat Tourism Association and, with financial support from the Active Citizens Fund Romania, a program financed by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the 2014-2021 EEA Grants. The aim of the project is to generate a local civic movement in three ecotourism destinations, to solve pollution with non-degradable waste.
The Active Citizens Fund Romania programme is financed by the EEA Grants 2014-2021. The general objective of the Grants is to reduce economic and social disparities and strengthen bilateral relations between the 15 beneficiary countries and the donor countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway). The programme is managed by the consortium composed of the Civil Society Development Foundation, the Partnership Foundation, the Roma Community Resource Centre, the PACT Foundation and Frivillighet Norge, which acts as the Fund Operator designated by FMO – the Financial Mechanism Office for the EEA and Norway Grants. The Active Citizens Fund Romania aims to strengthen civil society and active citizenship and increase the capacity of vulnerable groups. With a total allocation of EUR 46,000,000, the program aims to develop the long-term sustainability and capacity of the civil society sector, enhancing its role in promoting democratic participation, active citizenship and human rights, while strengthening bilateral relations with the donor states Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. For more information about the Active Citizens Fund in Romania, please visit www.activecitizensfund.ro. For more information about the EEA and Norway Grants, visit www.eeagrants.ro.”
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For information about the campaign and AER:
• The Carpathian Garden film with plastic waste
• Petition #faraganoaie
• Andrei Blumer, president, [email protected], 0723 186 016
• Bogdan Papuc, executive director, [email protected], 0728 974 801
• List of organizations signing the open letter:
o Federation of the Hotel Industry of Romania (FIHR)
o Romanian Ecotourism Association (AER)
o National Association of Travel Agencies in Romania (ANAT)
o Federation of Tourism Promotion Associations (FAPT)
o Romanian Incoming Association (AIR)
o Romanian Seaside Tourism Employers' Organization (OPTBR)

o Prahova Tourism Promotion and Development Association
o Sibiu County Tourism Association
o Tara Dornelor Ecotourism Association
o Retezat Tourism Association, ecotourism destination manager Țara Hațegului Retezat
o Ecological Association, manager of the Eco-Maramureș ecotourism destination,
o The Bison Land Association, manager of the Vânători Neamț ecotourism destination,
o Accent Geoecological Association, manager of the ecotourism destination Băile Tușnad and Surroundings
o Transylvanian Hills Association, ecotourism destination manager
o Magura Ecotourism Association, Brașov
o Carpathian Tales Association, Fagaras Land