Landscape conservation in the meadow of Dniester River from Telita village, Anenii Noi, under the historic name of Bocana, and its inclusion in the medieval tourist route – the Bender Road

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elita village, from Anenii Noi district, lies on the bank of the Dniester. On its territory there is the Landscape Reservation Telita, which is a secular forest preserved by villagers for more than 200 years. Moreover, it is the riverside border of another area also important – the Bocana rock chain with a proliferated canyon and karst cliffs. This riveran area of inestimable ecological value, currently, lies over an area of 54 hectares and includes the riverbed and the rocky chain with canyon. It is a field of wild olive groves (Elaeagnus angustifolia), ziziphus, hawthorn, rosehip and other shrubs and rock trees, with countless species of medicinal plants. It is worth mentioning that this natural complex serves as a habitat for the wild birds, some of them being the endangered species. This area of rare beauty and great scientific value is not yet fully researched, cataloged and is not under special protection of the state, its habitat being in danger of destruction and total loss. Human activities – poor farming, illicit cutting and grazing of excess sheep on these rocks bring enormous damage to this area. Furthermore, there are stored thousands tons of household waste which, with the rainwater, reaches the Dniester river and endangers the surface waters.

Thus, PA Media Vest Europa, supported by a team of young volunteers from the locality, Telita mayoralty and OZTOR Llc – a local economic agent that has the necessary equipment for cleaning and disposing the garbage from the area, aim to implement a large scale project for this locality and this particular geographical area: “Landscape conservation in the meadow of Dniester River from Telita village, Anenii Noi, under the historic name of Bocana, and its inclusion in the medieval tourist route – the Bender Road”. The project is based on the Local Development Strategy of Telita village 2016-2020, Telita State Land, as well as country policies such as: The National Plan for the extension of areas with forest vegetation for the years 2014-2018; National Program on the Establishment of the National Ecological Network for 2011-2018; National Strategy for Agricultural and Rural Development for the years 2014-2020; the Republic of Moldova's Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change by 2020 and the Action Plan for its Implementation.

The project falls within Component 1 of the EO6: Community Landscape and Seascape Conservation. The project aims at preserving the Bocana’s landscape from Telita village, the rehabilitation of the area through replanting native trees and shrubs for the revitalization of the habitat and the salvage of rare species of plants and birds, ensuring measures to minimize the degradation of water resources and aquatic biological diversity by cleaning the area of unauthorized landfills, setting up a green tourism area, creating a bicycle route, involving the population in conservation measures and information campaigns regarding area’s importance, minimizing damage from excessive grazing by organizing training sessions among owners of domestic animals, strengthening the capacities of Telita mayoralty in the development of local policy documents for the area’s rehabilitation; Action Plan on the retention and further development of the rehabilitated landscape, the restoration of the protective riparian strip on the Dniester river (Telita – Gura Bicului strip).