Romania participated in the CORIN Programme with the project entitled "Biotopes". The work was drawn up in the specialized institutes in this country and contains an inventory of the ecosystems in Romania, with their salient features, as well as with the sources of pollution.

Over the past few years, measures have been taken (legislative, organizational, institutional, material), a network of stations was created in order to monitor the quality of environment factors. The Environment Protection Agencies, supervise and, when necessary, sanction polluters. This is a sensitive field, and the relevant Romanian authorities have their hands full with the things to be done in order for Romania to meet the requirements of the European Union.

Natural resources are the natural capital, a basic component of Romani's wealth. The capitalization of these resources by tapping both nonrenewable and renewable materials and by processing them into products necessary to life points to a great extent to the degree of the country's socio-economic development, the health of the environment and the population's living standard.

1. Nonrenewable raw materials

Nonrenewable natural resources were and still are exploited with polluting technologies in many zones of the country. Thus fossil fuel, notably coal and hydrocarbons account, due to the way they are extracted and used, for ca. 50% of the methane emissions, 97% of the sulphur dioxide emissions, 88% of the nitrogen oxide ones, 50% of the carbon monoxide ones and over 99% of the carbon dioxide emissions.

Fossil fuel reserves are very limited in Romania, and the problem of energy holds a prime place in point of economic development and environment protection.

The other nonrenewable natural resources - iron ore, manganese, gold and silver, multimetal ores, nonferous ores, bauxite - are also scarce. Alone the reserves of nonmetallic substances (salt, sulphur, limestone, dolomite, plaster stone, feldspar, graphite, mica, diatomite, sands, kaolinitic rocks) are available over the long haul.

2. Renewable raw materials

Water is one of the vital resources for economic and social development. In Romania, inland water resources are limited to ca. 1,650 cu.m./year inhabitant and, if the Danube too is taken into account, to 3,246 cu.m./year inhabitant, or much less than in other water-rich countries such as the Nordic countries, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, France, a.o. Water consumptions in industry and agriculture grew steadily until 1989. After 1989 water consumptions in those two sectors have declined whereas the population's consumption has grown. The average per capita water consumption as well as the specific consumptions in industry and agriculture are bigger than in other, sometimes much bigger countries, because of the exaggerated losses in the supply and distribution networks, of wastage and nonperforming technologies.

Natural lakes, some of which are internationally important therapeutic lakes (Techirghiol, Amara, etc.), and the man-made lakes with dams on the inland rivers (total volume ca. 12 billion cu.m.) are other highly valuable resources of water.

Mineral waters (a renewable resource) are insufficiently capitalized on, although some of them are appreciated worldwide for their qualities. From the total mineral water reserve that can be bottled - 122,000 cu.m./ day - about 40% is used.

The land resource in Romania is as important as water is. From the country's total area of 236,391 sq.km., 62% is accounted for by the agricultural area, 27% by forests, 3.7% by waters and 7.3% other areas. In Romania there exists a great variety of soils, the most fertile being the chernozems in the Romanian Plain, the Western Plain, Moldavia's Plateau, the Transylvanian Plain, Dobrogea and other zones, which stand for 26.7% of the soil cover. The zone of soils formed under the forests is the largest and comprizes the mountains, the hills and part of the plains.

The fauna and flora are harmoniously spread over the territory of Romania and constitute a renewable resource of great value provided they are judiciously used.

The fish production from lakes and rivers has diminished, notably because of pollution, and a lessening interest in fishing, and poaching.

Romania's flora comprizes over 3500 plant species, out of which 350 species are found on mountainous lawns and over 800 species in beech and oak woods. A special ecosystem is the one of the Danube Delta, which shelters around 1150 plant species.

From among the world's approx. 8600 fowl species, around 300 species are to be found in the Danube Delta, which stands for 78% of the species existing in Romania and 3.4% of those existing in the world. Most species of birds migrate from Asia, Africa and the polar zones.

The mammal species - around 100 - are similar to the mammals in Central Europe.

Forests are mainly of ecological value, being the country's green lung and, secondly, of economic value, considering the wood mass that can be used. The forest has the most important role in maintaining and regulating the ecological balance. The forest area covers 6,368 thousand hectares, i.e. 27% of the country's total area.

The share of deciduous trees is of 69.2%, whereas resinous trees account for 30.8%.

The quality of environmental factors in Romania is affected by almost all the activities carried out in this country, as well as by across-the-border pollution. On the whole, the quantity of pollutants released in 1989 (as far as the Romanian territory was concerned), as related to the number of inhabitants, is lower than the average of the E.U. countries, for most pollutants.

At present, due to the drop in industrial production, as well as to measures of environmental protection, the quantity of released pollutants per capita is under the 1989 level, and substantially under the average level of the E.U.-12 countries.

What is even more interesting is the fact that the average of the pollutants per capita and per year in the OECD countries exceeds the average of the pollutants released by the E.U.-12, and as far as the sulphur dioxide emission is concerned, in Romania it is similar or even lower than the average in the OECD countries.

The Black Sea is, in the area of the Romanian shore, subject to a pollution process because of the pollutants brought by the Danube and other rivers, through direct discharges of used waters, not sufficiently cleaned, if ever, and through the intense harbour activity all along the Romanian coast. The pollutants in the Black Sea on the Romanian territory come mainly from the industrial platform Navodari, from Constanta and Mangalia. During the past few decades, the ecosystems in the Black Sea suffered great alterations. The structure and the ratio of the primary, secondary and tertiary bio-mass have changed, the migration of some species of predator fish from the Marmara Sea decreased, and the populations of sturgeon, and dolphin are dropping. Because of the alluvia deficit, and of the decrease of the Danube share, the beaches suffer from an erosion process. The works to protect the beaches have been intensified. Nevertheless, the Black Sea shore is an exceptionally attractive tourism location. Together with the lakes in the area, of which Techirghiol features a remarkable curing quality, the Romanian Black Sea shore can compete with the most famous coastal resort areas in the world. "The Black Sea Programme", bringing together the efforts of all the riparian countries to rehabilitate this ecosystem, creates the premises for putting an end to the degradation processes and for bringing the system, at least to some extent, to what it used to be.

The National System for Supervising the Quality of Soils was established as early as 1975. Since 1992, a new system was adopted, adjusted to the other European systems, and scientifically grounded as based on the research carried out by the Agricultural and Forestry Sciences Academy in Romania, and mainly by the Institute for Research in Pedology and Agro-chemistry, in collaboration with the Institute for Forest Research and Melioration.

The arable lands stand for 39.19 percent of the country's territory, as related to 44 percent of the arable land on an international level, 88 percent in Europe, 44 percent in the USA and 58 percent on an average in the advanced countries. The increase in the surface of arable lands being practically consumed, it is necessary to apply a strategy for the protection, improvement and rational utilisation of land, as based on the principles of sustainable development of the soil resources.

Of the 3800 species of plants existing in Romania, a few decades ago, around 23 are declared "Natural monuments", 290 are vulnerable, 185 are endangered species and 17 are extinct.

The so-called "Red Book" of Romania, including the endangered animals and plants, is yet to be released. The situation of nonvertebrates, which should constitute the object of total protection, is insufficiently studied, because of the large numbers of existing species: 33,085 (experts appreciate that only 11 species are endangered). Of the approximately 700 species of vertebrates, 26 are endangered, and 5 have been extinct.

Romania's priorities as regards environment: