Collaborating for a Resilient Nature: 20 Years of Impact by WWF-Romania

Bucharest, April 22, 2026 | With over 200 projects implemented and strong partnerships built for a resilient natural environment, WWF-Romania (World Wide Fund for Nature) marks two decades of activity in the country.

For the nearly 80 experts in the organization — biologists, ecologists, forestry engineers, financial experts, lawyers and communication specialists — this anniversary represents more than numbers. It reflects a profound transformation in how nature is understood, managed and valued in Romania.

Today, WWF-Romania is one of the country’s largest environmental NGOs in terms of expertise. One of its greatest achievements is the extensive network built over time: partnerships with researchers from six major universities, ongoing collaboration with ministry experts, protected area managers, local authorities, and international specialists within the global WWF network. Over the past 20 years, WWF-Romania has worked alongside those who manage, depend on or interact with nature — with the conviction that no lasting change can be achieved in isolation. This culture of collaboration has turned WWF-Romania into a systemic actor: one that brings together expertise, data and partners to solve environmental challenges, not just highlight them.

“When we started in 2006, Romania was under pressure to join the EU. The environment was seen as a barrier, and the risk of losing EU funding was real and immediate. At that time, institutions lacked the capacity to monitor, enforce or implement legislation. Forests were being cut uncontrollably, habitats fragmented, and civil society often faced closed doors. Nature conservation was not a national priority — it was seen as an external obligation, perceived as a cost rather than an investment. Nature was a resource, not a heritage. WWF-Romania chose to take on this enormous challenge and fight for nature,” said Orieta Hulea, CEO of WWF-Romania, who has been part of the organization since its early days as a biologist.

Forests and Freshwater

When WWF-Romania began its work, virgin forests were neither mapped nor legally protected. Today, following the assessment of 200,000 hectares, over 84,000 hectares of primary and old-growth forests are strictly protected and 24,000 hectares have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, with an additional 70,000 hectares designated as buffer zones.

WWF-Romania has significantly influenced forest governance. Over 5,000 stakeholders — local authorities, communities, NGOs and experts — are now actively involved. Around 300,000 hectares of High Conservation Value Forests have been identified and managed with community participation. Traditional close-to-nature forestry practices have been preserved in national policies. Deadwood is now recognized as essential habitat rather than waste. Romania has also become a European leader in digital timber traceability through the SUMAL system, replacing paper-based tracking with real-time monitoring. EU funding for nature-friendly forestry is now accessible for approximately 100,000 hectares of private forests. For the first time, forest-dependent communities are formally recognized in national forestry legislation.

In river systems and the Danube Delta, WWF has advanced the “Room for Rivers” concept and helped establish the Lower Danube Green Corridor agreement, signed by Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine. This initiative protects 935,000 hectares and supports the ecological restoration of 224,000 hectares of wetlands. WWF restored 924 hectares of the former Carasuhat agricultural area to the natural flood regime of the Danube — a national model for wetland restoration. At Garla Mare, over 400 hectares of floodplain have been revitalized, supporting 80 protected species and increasing water retention capacity by approximately 5 million cubic meters.

“Romania stands at a crossroads: it can choose a resilient, nature-positive future or revert to outdated solutions that damage rivers, forests and communities. WWF-Romania has always chosen long-term change. As part of a global network present in over 100 countries, Romania’s voice for nature is stronger and more impactful,” said Barbara Bendandi, Conservation Director, WWF-Romania.

Wildlife

After nearly 200 years of absence, the European bison has returned to the Southern Carpathians. Today, around 250 individuals roam freely in the Tarcu Mountains — one of the largest free populations in Europe — through a long-term reintroduction programme.

In the Danube, over 60,000 sturgeon juveniles have been released as part of recovery efforts for species once on the brink of extinction. Romania now has the first national database for accidental sturgeon catches, developed together with fishermen, authorities and research institutions. 

WWF-Romania has also identified the country’s first ecological corridor network for large carnivores, ensuring connectivity for bears, wolves, lynx and other species. The project has been recognized by the European Commission as a best practice model.

“Romania’s Carpathians host nearly one third of Europe’s large carnivores — this is a responsibility. Conservation means building socio-ecological systems that work: research, coexistence, legislation and trust with communities. Sturgeons have survived millions of years but cannot survive without us. The bison is Europe’s largest land mammal — and Romania is now home to one of its largest free populations. We did not achieve this alone” said Dr. Cristian Papp, National Manager, Wildlife and Protected Areas.

Communities and Education – conservation that starts with people

WWF-Romania understood from the very beginning that nature cannot be protected without the people who live alongside it. Over 100 local communities — from the Danube Delta, the Danube floodplain, the Hartibaciu Plateau, the South-Western Carpathians and Maramures — have been involved in conservation projects, decision-making processes and biodiversity-based entrepreneurship models.

Baile Tusnad became the first “Bear Smart” community in Romania, a national model for sustainable coexistence with large carnivores. In the #BearSmart community of Baile Tusnad, people and nature have learned to live together through education, patience and constant collaboration between the local community, authorities and specialists. Bear monitoring, correct and transparent interventions, and continuous communication have transformed a town located in the middle of an ecological corridor into a place where conflicts have decreased to almost zero. Since 2021, the number of reported bear-related damages has dropped from 41 to 0, while RO-Alert messages have decreased from 230 to just 14 in 2025, with only 5 interventions required (one deterrence, four relocations and zero removals).

WeWilder, the first social enterprise established by WWF-Romania together with a local community in the South-Western Carpathians, was selected to represent Romania in the European Parliament as a leading example of local development. MuMA Hut, part of the same project, was nominated for the prestigious European architecture awards Mies van der Rohe.

More than 30,000 young people have participated in the organization’s educational programmes. Hundreds of them were mobilized in 12 cities to identify local environmental issues and propose concrete climate solutions, later submitted to authorities. The “Young People Active for Wilderness” Club, the Zero Plastic Ambassadors Programme, Climate Heroes and the Tracking Academy are just a few of the initiatives that have connected entire generations with the nature around them.

Over 100 companies have chosen to become active partners in conservation. National NGOs — the Natura 2000 Coalition, the Romanian Ornithological Society, Milvus Group, Bankwatch, Eco Ruralis, ROMAPIS, the Green Belt Foundation — and local organizations — ADEPT Transylvania Foundation, Ecologic Association and Mioritics Association — have amplified impact on the ground.

A partner in dialogue — over 400 contributions to public policies and environmental legislation

Over the past 20 years, WWF-Romania has directly contributed to shaping the legislative and public policy framework that governs nature protection in Romania today. From aligning environmental legislation with European standards following EU accession in 2007 — through the transposition and implementation of the Water Framework Directive, the Flood Risk Directive, the Natura 2000 Directives, the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), and the EU Deforestation Regulation — to concrete contributions to the European Climate Pact, the organization has been present at every table where decisions that matter for nature were made.

WWF contributed to the development of the National Forest Strategy 2030, the Climate Change Adaptation Strategy 2030, the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plans, and the National Strategic Plan for the Common Agricultural Policy. It has influenced the Forestry Code and related legislation, the legal framework for protected areas, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, and most recently, the National Green Public Procurement Plan 2025–2030.

Beyond strategic documents, WWF has contributed to the foundation of concrete legislative changes: banning micro-hydropower plants in protected areas and excluding them from EU funding, integrating biodiversity requirements into the Common Agricultural Policy and spatial planning, incorporating green infrastructure measures into river basin management and flood risk plans, and strengthening penalties for illegal fishing, transport and possession of sturgeon.

Partnerships with universities in Bucharest, Brasov, Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Suceava and Galati have been consistently integrated into WWF’s campaigns and projects over the years.

International collaborations and affiliations — placing Romania on the global conservation map

WWF-Romania is part of the largest nature conservation network in the world and actively collaborates with IUCN — the International Union for Conservation of Nature, ICPDR — the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River, the Carpathian Convention, the Global Wildlife Connect Initiative, the Infrastructure and Ecology Network Europe (IENE), and CAN — the Climate Action Network. WWF-Romania is a founding member of the Ecotourism Association of Romania, the Natura 2000 Coalition and Panda Labs — the global innovation programme of the WWF network, alongside Denmark, Australia, Kenya and Switzerland.

The organization has contributed to scientific studies published in international journals and picked up by global media, strengthening Romania’s image as one of the most important territories for biodiversity in Europe.

“Collaboration is in our nature. Over 20 years, we have built a network of people, institutions and organizations who believe that Romania deserves a thriving natural environment. The results we celebrate today belong, first and foremost, to this extended community. WWF-Romania’s role is to connect knowledge with action, conservation with community needs, and long-term vision with practical solutions. We have supported evidence-based approaches that protect biodiversity, strengthen climate resilience and support sustainable development,” said Orieta Hulea, CEO of WWF-Romania.