Romanian Youth wants to Protect Forests from Climate Change

31 August 2021 – Issues related to climate change were in the top interests of the 120 Romanian high school students and teachers from all over the country who participated in August at the Eco Challenge Environmental Leadership Camp in Moeciu de Sus, in Brașov County. For four days they learned, had fun and were challenged to build together, work in teams and learn about the environment.

During a mountain hike with students, Radu Melu, the national manager of the forest department at WWF Romania, spoke to the young people about the challenges facing forests and their administrators from the perspective of extreme weather events and their consequences.

“Now we know what to do in a forest that does not face natural disruptions and hazards, but we do not know what we can do if disasters occur and, more importantly, we do not know what we can do to reduce their impact on the forest,” says Melu.

The WWF expert explained that we cannot stop climate change, but we can think of solutions that will help increase the forest’s resilience to these phenomena. In this context, Melu presented the CLIMAFORCEELIFE project which aims, among other things, to develop a guide of good practice for professionals and to provide some solutions to follow in the context of new climate challenges.

During the school year, students and teachers of EcoProvocarea, who were part of the recycling, planting, sanitation and circular economy teams, managed to send to recyclers over 32,000 kg of waste, planted over 7,000 seedlings, extracted from natural areas over 600 bags more than 4,000 objects in small community donation events.