Over 120 rare species of plants and animals from Soroca and Stefan Voda districts got passports. It is for the first time for the Republic of Moldova, when Soroca and Stefan Voda districts got valuable tools for environment protection: passports for rare species of plants and animals, as well as rare habitats’ handbooks.

All these, alongside with eco-touristic guides were developed with the support of the UNDP Project “Mainstreaming biodiversity conservation into Moldova’s territorial planning policies and land use practices”, financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). These publications are useful for the representatives of local public administrations, specialists in the area of environment protection, forestry, agriculture and water resources, land plots’ administrators, environmental non-governmental organizations, teachers and students, as explained by Alexandru Rotaru, UNDP Moldova Project Manager:

“The passports of rare species help to monitor and protect local biodiversity. The document covers data describing the species, including their geographical location and the necessary protection measures.”

At the same time, touristic guides were developed for the two districts, which contain about 250 touristic attractions from Soroca and 200 from Stefan Voda district. The guides include information about tourism and protected natural areas, useful data about museums, local craftspeople, accommodation units, highlighting the originality of the destinations.

“The protected areas, variety of landscapes, numerous rare species offer a full picture and add value to some symbolic attractions in these districts, such as Soroca Fortress or Purcari Winery. Hence, visitors may see a number of unusual things, which may be admired only in these eco-touristic destinations in Moldova”, says the author of the publications, expert Viorel Miron.

The eco-touristic guides will be distributed to schools, libraries and museums from Stefan Voda and Soroca districts. The UNDP Moldova Project “Mainstreaming biodiversity conservation into Moldova’s territorial planning policies and land use practices” is implemented during 2015–2018, in four communities from Soroca and Stefan Voda districts.

The most important project achievements cover the creation of 102 ha of ecological corridors via reforestation of degraded land fields and restoration of 100 ha of pastures through grass carpet improvement works. The project developed biodiversity-friendly pastures’ and communal forests’ management plans for the pilot communities, District Spatial Plans for Soroca and Stefan Voda, General Urbanistic Plans for 4 communities, which consider biodiversity conservation aspects.

The studies on ecosystem services’ economic value were developed for Soroca and Stefan Voda districts, and businesses based on ecosystem services are being piloted in 3 communities.