In September, six water professionals traveled to Romania as part of the Tackling Drought project work visit. Central to this working visit was the submission of an Interreg Romania-Bulgaria proposal to the European Commission. This proposal, aiming for €3.5 million in funding, would support the achievement of important goals of the Romanian Blue Deal partnership, including rehabilitation of the Jiet river. This foreseen rehabilitation with Nature-based Solution intends to ensure increased retention of water, in order to ensure sufficient availability of water in dry periods for various purposes including for agriculture.
A milestone of the visit included a trip to the town of Rojiste, where the Dutch and Romanian water experts were welcomed by the mayor. He signed a declaration required for a subsidy application, aiming to connect the Jiet river and the Jiu river. Such a connection would improve the water supply downstream of the Jiet River, which is essential for this natural area. The initiative is part of the broader Interreg proposal addressing various Nature-based Solutions in Romania and Bulgaria. Dutch Water Authorities are participating as an associate partner in the proposal.
Pictured: The mayor of Rojiste signs a declaration in support of the Inter-regional proposal
The group also visited the Dabuleni Research Institute. The institute does a lot of research into drought and how to manage this. They are specialised in various drought issues faced by the region, including challenges related to irrigation systems, such as groundwater extraction and what the long-term effects would be on groundwater levels. But also issues related to maintenance of channels, or energy costs related to pumping water from the Danube (and how this should be priced).
Pictured: A visit to Dabuleni Research Institute
The Dabuleni Research Research Institute is also a partner in a sub-project which the Blue Deal Romania team is collaborating with WWF Romania, restoring a historical water source. Together with our Romanian partners and WWF, the site of this restoration was visited. It is a challenging project that will require extensive stakeholder management with local parties, such as farmers, to discuss topics such as water allocation.
Pictured: Blue Deal Romania and local partners together with WWF during a field visit