Country Comments

Romania is indeed rich in biodiversity, particularly in the broad Danube delta, the largest delta in Europe. It also has one of the largest undisturbed forests in Europe. Even with these abundant natural resources, air pollution caused by industry, autos and households are serious environmental problems in Romania. The country’s factories, chemical plants, and electric power plants depend heavily on burning fossil fuels, a process that emits high levels of carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide - a key component of acid rain. Much of the nation’s industrial runoff ends up in the Danube river system, making water unsafe for drinking and threatening the diverse ecosystems of the Danube delta. Its lakes and marshes are home to hundreds of species of birds and dozens of fish and reptile species, many of which are threatened with extinction. Poor farming practices, especially infrequent crop rotation, have led to severe soil degradation and erosion in parts of Romania, although today, nearly half of all Romanians still live out of farming, in rural areas. (1)

Fortunately Romania is not far from achieving a sustainable population level as its total population has declined gradually by 20% since a peak in the mid 1990s due to both a below replacement level fertility per woman averaging 1.5 over the past few decades, and substantial emigration often making up over 50% of the annual population decline.

(1) https://naturvernforbundet.no/international/environmental-issues-in-romania/category944.html