The illegal storage of organic and plastic waste, discharging of insufficiently treated wastewater and animal waste into rivers and pollution caused by recreational activities are pressing problems for the Republic of Moldova and for the Black Sea Basin in general. The given problems will be dealt with by implementing cost-effective and eco-friendly solutions in the framework of the project “Cleaner River, Cleaner Seas” (CRoCuS). The project is implemented in partnership by a number of associations of Moldova, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Romania.
In a news conference at IPN, Nadejda Andreev, who heads the public association “Women in Sustainable Development of Moldova” (WiSDOM), said that as part of the project they aim to mobilize local volunteers so as to assess the most polluted places and to reduce waste on riverbanks. Another objective is to promote sustainable plastic and biodegradable waste management practices and to assess the potential for recycling waste in the basins of the rivers Prut, Nipru and Tundja.
Lucia Biletski, of WiSDOM, noted that the project forms part of the Joint Operational Program Black Sea Basin 2014-2020. “The general objective of the Joint Operational Program Black Sea Basin 2014-2020 is to improve the wellbeing of people in the Black Sea Basin through sustainable growth and joint environmental protection. The CRoCuS project “Cleaner River, Cleaner Seas” includes the promotion of joint actions to raise awareness and to reduce waste in rivers and seas,” stated Lucia Biletski.
Elena Zubkov, who heads the public association “Society of Ecotoxicologists of the Republic of Moldova” (ECOTOX), said the basins of the Prut, Nipru and Tundja rivers are the target areas of the project. “Surface waters in Moldova are most of the times polluted by substances deriving from domestic wastewater that increases the quantity of easily biodegradable and hardly biodegradable organic compounds that get into the wastewater treatment system of the municipality of Chisinau practically directly. But this wastewater can be treated in not so large quantities. For example, rather cheap wastewater treatment systems can be built in each yard in the village,” stated Elena Zubkov.
The project is to be completed on December 31, 2022. Its budget is of about €487,000, 92% of which is provided by the EU through the Neighborhood Investment Facility, while 8% represents the co-financing of project beneficiaries.
