The meetings of the project implementation team with the stakeholders from the Nature 2000 site zone of the Gilort River continue. After the representatives of the Gorj Water Management System and the landowners in the area of interest of the project activities, the APM Gorj team met, on Thursday, March 18th 2021, with local representatives of the National Agency for Protected Natural Areas, the administrator of the Gilort River Nature 2000 Site, where the Fish for Life project is implemented. The working meeting included both a series of discussions and a visit to the project implementation area.

The main topic of discussion was how to collaborate to maintain and protect biodiversity in the natural area where the Fish For Life project is implemented. Special attention was paid to ecological reconstruction activities aimed at conserving fish species and improving the quality of water bodies, namely:

• restoring the connectivity of the forest vegetation along the rivers by actions of planting specific forest vegetation;
• carrying out works in the riverbed to maintain and improve the natural processes of the river, that also contribute to maintainig / restoring the river natural habitats;
• implementation of works to reduce riverbanks erosion, which can restore the specific natural habitats of the river.

The ANANP representatives appreciated the project activities as essential for the protection of biodiversity in the site and declared they would provide all the support by intensifying the monitoring actions they carry out in the Gilort River Nature 2000 Site, in the areas where ecological reconstruction activities take place.

At the same time, the possibility of concluding a partnership between APM Gorj and ANANP for the administration of the Gilort River Nature 2000 Site was discussed. Thus, the experience of the two institutions would bring additional benefits to the protected natural area. The participants in the meeting agreed that it is a priority to raise the awareness of all the decision-makers in the institutions that regulate the activities taking place in the Gilort River Nature 2000 Site, in order to limit the effects on the species.

The purpose of the meetings with decision-makers is to create a dialogue on current approaches to water management, the ways to resolve conflicts generated by economic and nature conservation objectives and to obtain the support of institutions involved in the area for the ecological reconstruction actions provided in the project. The meetings with the stakeholders will continue by means of invitations to dialogue addressed to the mayor’s offices from the project area, to the representatives of the Romanian Waters administration, to the Agency for Payments and Intervention for Agriculture, to the County Council, to the economic agents operating in the area.