Overview of the first Conference of Local Forest Initiatives

On October 12, 2019, at the State Agricultural University of Moldova (Faculty of Horticulture) was held the first Conference of Local Initiatives for Forests. The agenda of the event was built around the following goals:

• To encourage groups of volunteers, key people from mayors, local intellectuals to initiate new forestry projects for their regions
• To provide them with a minimum of knowledge to carry out sustainable forestry projects
• To highlight the heroes of our times, those who, looking at the political situation, the degree of financing, better said by its lack, have been constantly forestry plantations in recent years: NGOs, mayors, ecological activists and groups of Local Initiative…
• To realize the exchange of experience and modern technologies between all the wishers

In a simple and accessible language, various topics related to the organization of new forest plantations were addressed:

Main conclusions after the Conference. Some of them are to be converted into concrete subprojects:

• The problem of deforestation is an extremely little known one in society and little publicized. As a positive example and popularization tool, it is necessary to highlight the groups of volunteers and the city halls that have made sustainable forest plantations in the last years. The national average of all forms should pay more attention to this topic
• There are many groups and leaders in regions that are ready to get involved in local afforestation projects. Basic knowledge and tools are needed
• In order to stimulate the recovery of degraded land in sustainable forest plantations, it is necessary to develop viable legal mechanisms (models of leases, gradual repurchase)
• Over 1/3 of the small rivers in Moldova have already disappeared. We must give priority to forest plantations in aquatic protection areas
• Mixing the species in the plantations can bring them significant added value
• Digital technologies have an extremely high potential for increasing plant efficiency and volumes. Examples:
  • Digital map of plantations
  • Planting with drones
  • Automated growth of seedlings

In order to materialize these thoughts in concrete projects, all interested parties are invited for collaboration: natural and legal persons, international donors, state structures, local public administrations, diaspora ... for contact [email protected] sau +373 (68) 09958

They were invited to the Conference:

• All wishers, regardless of status, those who want to start new local forest plantations and contribute to those in progress - through facebook and the press
• All candidates for mayors and local councilors - through official invitations to all political parties participating in the local elections on October 20.
• Representatives of the state structures and the Academic Environment, through the official invitations sent

After the completion of the speech program, the participants made a symbolic planting of trees and shrubs of rare and decorative species in the UASM dendrarium of Mircești street. Members of the Zdob-and-Zdub group also participated in the planting

The conference organizers:

• Participatory involvement platformARBORETUM.LIVE
• UASM State Agricultural University of Moldova (Faculty of Horticulture)

They contributed to the organization and smooth running of the event:

TrademarkOM #OMActiv, Tucano Coffee, Dulcinella, NAYADA-Moldova, Activis Teambuilding, Oki-Doki Marketing, JCI-Moldova, Grădina Botanică din Chișinău, Million Trees Moldova

Parteneri Media: Tele Radio Moldova, Noi.md, Moldovenii.md, Ecology.md, MoldKorr, Terra.md, revista Agravista

Informative note: At present, the Republic of Moldova, officially, is the most desolate country in Europe. At the same time, in each of the localities of our country there are between 10 and 50% of unused, degraded, cleared lands, pastures, lands in landslides ... on these lands forest could and should grow.