The Ecologist Movement of Moldova said the use of underground waters for irrigating farmland will generate the salinization of soils and their removal from agricultural use for a period of four-five years. Members of the Movement call on the authorities not to allow using underground waters for irrigation because these should be used to ensure the supply with drinking water of the population. Moreover, they said that there are persons interested in amending the legislation so that the authorization for irrigating farmland is obtained easier.
The Ecologist Movement’s head Alecu Renita, in a news conference at IPN said that some of the possessors of large areas of land do not want to contribute to the irrigation systems. Thus, they want the process of obtaining authorizations for irrigating the land with underground waters to be simplified. This way, the persons using underground water s for irrigation illegally want to legalize their abuses on the natural resources.
Vice director of the Institute of Ecology Iurie Bejan said the problem of use of underground waters appeared in 2013, after the new Water Law took effect. The law provides that the underground waters can be used for irrigation only in areas were these waters are enough and there are no surface waters. The legislation also provides that the underground waters can be used for irrigational purposes only with the Government’s permission and based on studies.
Before allowing the use of waters for irrigation, the Institute of Ecology needs to give its consent. In this connection, Iurie Bejan said the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry sent a number of applications to the Institute to obtain permission to use underground waters for irrigation, but every time the Institute’s employees issued negative appraisals.
To avoid the consequences of the irrational use of underground waters, the Ecologist Movement of Moldova suggests carrying out studies to determine the size of the underground waters in the country. The study should include a chapter about the impact of irrigation on underground waters and should be made by foreign experts.
