Representatives of several environment organisations oppose the Government’s project intended to transform 4 of 5 nature reserves in Moldova into national parks. This position was voiced Thursday, February 1, at a news conference. The intention to transform the four reserves into parks was stated as part of a bill worked out by the Government and forwarded to the Parliament for amendments to the Law on State-Protected Natural Areas. The only reservation that will be not transformed is Iagorlac, situated in the region controlled by the Tiraspol separatist regime. Ion Dediu, head of the National Academy of Ecology, told the press conference that the ecologists protest against this project, as the national parks have an inferior protection regime than the nature scientific reserves. Taking into account that the project encloses the Government’s order to establish the division into zones of the national parks’ territories, it is clear that the real purpose of the suggested amendment is the exploitation of the forests that remained on the territory of the scientific reservations and economic exploitation of the territory for building villas and hotels in the respective rural areas that comprise a total surface of 0.56% of the Moldovan territory. Lilia Curchi, representative of the Ecological Movement of Moldova (EMM) stated that EMM fights for suppressing such trends, while the future national parks are to be created using new surfaces, which are not part of the protected areas. She added that it is needed to organise public debates attended by local and foreign experts, who would define a concept of national park in Moldova. Andrei Dumbraveanu, head of the “Alianta Verde” Green Party has underlined the dual character of the policy promoted by the present government. The notion of scientific reserve is substituted with that of national park. It is needed to create national parks, do develop rural areas, but not following this substitution. The project’s real aim is to build villas in the nature reserves for business reasons, he concluded. At present, there are 5 state scientific reserves in Moldova: Codrii, Prutul de Jos, Padurea Domneasca, Plaiul Fagului and Iagorlac, measuring over 19 thousand ha in area.